


Thunder Rolls

by mommahmoo



Category: Mamamoo, Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-10
Updated: 2018-10-29
Packaged: 2018-10-30 06:40:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 47,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10871214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mommahmoo/pseuds/mommahmoo
Summary: Following When Lightning Strikes, the gang is faced with a new ordeal. How will things change for them after confronting death once?





	1. One

I had been in a pleasant sleep when I was suddenly woken up by a soft kick. I didn’t have to open my eyes to know what had begun, but I did anyway. Her heart had started racing, the adrenaline ran through her veins, but she remained unconscious. Her eyelids had begun fluttering rapidly, revealing white eyes every time they popped open.

The first time I saw her have one of her episodes at night, it scared me half to death. The scene was a lot less pleasant than I had told her it was because she didn’t have to know the truth of it.

Her body would tense up real tight and spring out, and it happened constantly within the duration of the vision. Which has been as long as thirty minutes before. It was no wonder she woke up so tired after each episode.

But I didn’t move too far away. I just couldn’t. It made me feel better to stay close, even if I woke up with a few bruises.

As soon as her body finally relaxed, I would immediately take her back into my arms. I already knew that she fine, but I didn’t feel fully content until she’d sigh softly and cuddle closer as if my arms were where she was meant to be.

 

On any given day, I would wake up earlier than her, even if I had to stay up for an episode and wait it out. If there wasn’t school, I sometimes had to wait an hour or more for her to finally arise. Today, she started to stir early and I didn’t have to wait for her lazy sleeping habit.

“You’re always up before me.” Solar mumbled, her voice thick with sleep.

I hummed in acknowledgment, and added, “It’s because you’re lazy and I’m used to getting up at four or five.”

She rolled away to stretch out and I immediately missed her warmth, but she was back moments later snuggling as close as she possible could. I smiled and tightened my arms to help her eliminate the space between us. It was impossible not to smile when you had the most adorable girl in the world in your arms.

Finally when she had settled in, she responded.

“I’m not lazy. You just need to learn to sleep in.”

“No. I like getting up early. It makes the day feel longer.”

“That’s true, but sleep is ten times better.”

“I can admit that sleep is nice. It’s just that, dream Solar doesn’t hold a candle to real life Solar.”

The sudden cheesiness of my line caused Solar to giggle and tighten the arms she had around me as if she wanted to cringe but couldn’t.

I couldn’t help but grin and press my face to the top of her head. Everything was good as long as Solar was laughing because her laugh and her smile was all that was necessary to keep my world turning.

“Oh, Moonbyul,” Solar reproached, but she pressed a feather light kiss to the base of my throat. “You’d think I’d be used to that by now.”

After a moment of comfortable silence, I decided to bring up what had happened in the dead of night.

“Tell me about it,” I said simply, knowing she’d understand what I was talking about.

“Later,” she said dismissively with no note of worry in her voice.

I was quiet for a second because it was quite the episode. Not something I would expect her to brush off. I was sure it wasn’t totally fine, but if she wanted to deal with it later so be it. Sometimes it was best not to push and let people come to it on their own terms.

“As you say.”

“Hey!” She looked up at me with excited eyes. I pulled back just a bit to see her face fully. In moments she had me smiling again.

“Yeah?” I urged her to continue.

“Let’s change, so you can come down to the front door and have breakfast with me.”

I pulled my hand from her waist, where I had been absent mindedly rubbing small circles with my thumb, to press it to the side of her face. I looked down at her a bit baffled by her complete normalness.

I lightly brushed invisible dust from her cheek with my thumb and said, “You seem to have had a restful sleep.” In an even tone like it was simply an observation. I can’t help but wonder why she wasn’t fatigued.

“I always do when you’re here.” Her response sounded genuine but we both knew that it wasn’t totally true. I don’t know what it was, but something seemed off. She was definitely keeping something from me. I just had to be patient about it. It was easy when she looked this happy.

So instead of prodding, I pressed a kiss to her forehead. Just as simple reminder for her, I would be waiting for her when she was ready to talk, if she ever wanted to.

“I’ll make you toast,” she added like it was the most enticing thing in the world. In a way it was because it meant more time with Solar.

“I love toast,” I murmured. “Alright, let’s change.”

Instead of moving away so she could get up, she slid up so her face was level with mine. She leaned forward to kiss me, and there was no hesitation from me to meet her. Morning breath be damned. Nothing could stop me from kissing this girl.

 

I didn’t tell Moonbyul anything because I didn’t actually understand what I had seen. And there was no time to process it either because when I woke up, she was there. She was warmth, comfort, and home. Suddenly, I didn’t care to understand. Not right then at least. Why would I want to think about something that seemed like a distant memory when she was so present and whole?

I almost lost the chance to have this with her because I had to chase the things I saw in my sleep. And that thought alone made those visions easier to ignore.

 

I turned around and smiled at her sheepishly. I was met with amused eyes and a sweet smile. I knew that she had already smelled the over toasted bread, not because she was special I mean anyone could have, but I told her like it was news anyway.

“I burnt them.”

“That’s okay. I wasn’t expecting much anyway.”

“Hey!” I shouted offended even though I really couldn’t blame her.

“What? Expectations only lead to disappointment, and in this case I was right.” Moonbyul was grinning proud of her witty remark.

I huffed as if I wasn’t enjoying this exchange and turned away from her.

“I’ll make you a new one.”

“No, it’s okay.” I heard her get up from the stool she had been watching me from, and in no time she was taking a piece from the plate I had them on.

“I’ll just scrape some of the tinged parts off and put some butter and jam on it. It’ll be good. Don’t worry about it.”

She used her bare scarred hand to gently turn my head towards hers and pressed a quick kiss to my lips.

“Thanks for breakfast,” she murmured softly against my lips as she turned away.

Then she proceeded to do just what she said she would. It all happened so fast, for a moment I was left bewildered. But after a beat, a fond smile found its way to my face. Her sweetness was so natural, I don’t even think she noticed it.

“It’s really no problem to make you a new one.”

“I know, but it’s really still a good piece of bread. There’s no reason to waste it. Thank you though.”

I watched her for a moment as she carefully spread the butter onto her toast before I picked up my piece and followed her lead.

 

“It’s getting cold out there, are you sure you don’t just want to ride with Wheein?” Mom asked with hope in her eyes.

My mom liked Moonbyul she really did, but she hated her motorcycle.

“Yes, mom. We'll be fine, I swear. Look at these jackets.” I indicated to my new leather riding jacket. Moonbyul had gotten it for me as a present, and there was no way I was going to miss out on wearing it. Not even once. “Plus, Wheein’s already gone.”

“But her cars right out there.” She pointed out the window where we could see Wheein’s red car parked in the driveway.

“Mrs. Kim, I believe she got another ride this morning,” Moonbyul informed her.

A knowing smile slowly broke out onto Moonbyul’s face when she looked at me, and I immediately knew who had taken my best friend. I couldn’t help but grin myself.

“What’s that smile for?” Mom’s eyebrows quirked up catching our silent exchange.

“Nothing, Mom. We have to go or we’re going to be late. I don’t want to make them wait for us again.” I grabbed Moonbyul’s arm and pulled her out the door.

“Bye, Mrs. Kim! Have a good day!”

As soon as my mom closed the door, I turned to Byul with the biggest puppy eyes I could manage and begged. “Please, let me drive.”

For a second, she looked like she was about to give in, but a second later she was chuckling.

“Good try, but no way.”

She went over to the bike and grabbed both of the helmets and passed me mine.

“Why not? Isn’t that why you taught me in the first place? So I could drive.”

Byul didn’t even see the frown I wore as we put on our helmets, so I couldn’t even guilt her into it.

“Yes, but I don’t want your mom to hate me, do I?”

“She already likes you.”

“I’m not about to give her a reason to change her mind.”

She got on and I followed right behind her tightly wrapping my arms around her waist. We’ve done this enough times for it to feel like second nature now.

“Fine,” I conceded. Only because I had too. “But we should do something fun today. Other than hanging out at the garage.”

“Sounds good to me. You ready?”

“Yep. Drive fast,” I instructed.

I felt the chuckle more than heard it, but I’ve heard it enough times to know what it would have sounded like.

“The roads are icy, do you have a death wish?”

“I like drifting. You're good enough to skid and stuff, right?”

She sighs, but I know she's still smiling. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea to ever let you drive.” She said just before she took off so I couldn’t respond.

 

“Well you’re the one that wanted to go somewhere, so you have to decide.”

“Ahh, but Moonbyul, I can’t think of anything. Help me,” I whined pulling on her sleeve so she’d give her full attention to me. She was looking at a manual of a new engine or something like that. I didn’t understand it, that’s all I knew. Sometimes, I can’t believe how big of a nerd she is.

She was back to long sleeves again, but only because it was actually cold. It wasn’t too long after the incident that Byul finally showed her scar off to the world. It made me so proud because it was like a symbol that she had finished one chapter of her life. Moonbyul is only eighteen years old, and she’s already almost died twice.

The first time was a car wreck where she had lost her parents. It was also where she had been struck by lightning, which caused her to gain her heightened senses. Yet, the extraordinary ability didn’t affect her as much as her loss. I know now that Byul lied to me the first time she told me the reason she hid her scar.

The moon was full and it reflected brightly on the lake before us. It was a warm summer night, and Byul and I were just taking in the night scenery after a nice afternoon of riding. I did as I always did and cuddled up against her. Before then, she was still wearing her riding jacket, but it was summer, and my heat and the hot air was too much to handle, so she ended up taking it off. Under it, she wore a simple sleeveless shirt which allowed me full access to the pattern of tendrils that went up her arm.

I gave her arm a kiss and looked up at her from her shoulder. “Byul, I thought you were done with hiding it.”

She was quiet for a moment, just staring out into the black twinkling lake. Then she took a deep breath and glanced at me. I felt the hesitation in her mind, I felt her scared to disappoint me.

But she never could. “Moonbyul, share your burden with me,” I whispered. Hoping that she would understand.

She reached for my hand and squeezed it. “I thought I was too, but… I just can’t stand looking at it.”

There was always this small part of her heart, of her mind, dedicated to the sadness of her past. Every once in a while I would feel it expand, like right now. It was the place she kept her parents. It was where she kept her guilt for being the only survivor.

I understood why before I asked her, but I didn’t need to hear it as much as she needed to say it.

“Because it doesn’t just take me back to that night. It’s like proof that I lived and they didn’t.”

She was quiet again, but I didn’t speak. This wasn’t about me. It was about her.

“Since the strike wasn’t a direct hit, I sometimes think that the electricity traveled through the car, took their essence and shot it into me. Almost like I took their senses. I know that sounds crazy and probably dumb, especially because I know for sure now that it isn’t true because of you, but it stays in my mind. I can’t let it go.”

“Hey, look at me.” I grab her face and turn it towards me so I know she hears what I say. “It’s not dumb. Irrational maybe, but…” She laughs and looks down, but I don’t speak until she looks back up. “It’s not true. If anything they’re proud of you. Proud of what you’ve done with what the scar left you.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” She smiles while a tear rolls down her face. I’m quick to catch it.

“Of course I’m right. Ain’t I always?”

She laughs and pulls me in for a hug.

“I’m so glad to have you, Solar.” She whispers against my ear, and I feel a shiver go up my back.

“Always.”

Soon after, she stopped wearing sleeved shirts in the blazing sun.

 

I look up when the other two finally come back from getting a refill.

“Wheein! Hwasa! Hey, do you guys have any plans later tonight?”

“Like, other than going to the movies like we already planned?” Wheein asked already in the middle of shoving food into her mouth.

“Oh, yeah... I totally forgot about that.” When did we make plans for that again? How distracted have I been?

“Wow. Some friend you are. After all that time Hwasa and I spent deciding on a movie.” Wheein said turning away from me in an over exaggerated huff.

“We might just have to disinvite you guys. I bet we’d have more fun anyway,” Hwasa said shaking her head as if she pitied us.

“No! I’m sorry okay. I’ve just been distracted by something my mom told me today.” It was a small lie, but I just didn’t want them to worry about it just yet. I turn back towards my girlfriend who’s smiling down at her manual, clearly enjoying the show.

“Byul, help me apologize to our beautiful friends.” I tug at her sleeve again.

Finally, she turns to me. But right at that moment, I get another transmission that I can’t interpret. I pause a moment and try to continue, but nothing gets past Byul.

“Why don’t we just hang out at my place tonight? We can just watch a movie at my house. Tomorrow we can do something fun with them. We’ll have everything figured out and you can drive us there.” She puts her hand on my thigh and gently massages it.

The other two stay quiet. They can tell by Moonbyul’s tone that something has changed within a minute.

“Yeah, I like that idea. But I get to drive to your place too.” I look at her and smile faintly. _I’m okay._

“Deal.”

From there, the others are able to carry on with lunch. Which is comforting. I love the random talk and laughter.

But my mind still falls into a place I would rather avoid. I knew that that vision wasn’t something I would be able to hide from forever. I didn’t know what it was, but I knew that confronting it was unavoidable. I sometimes have visions about people, but it’s always been by my doing. After finding Krystal, I’ve tried to help out others. From a distance, of course. I’ve been able to give anonymous tips that have led to breakthroughs, which makes me feel like I’m not letting this, what some would call, gift go to waste.

But other than Krystal, I haven’t gotten another vision that came from their end. It was like they were sending me a message. An SOS signal.

You know how they say that your life flashes before your eyes right before you’re going to die? This was like the opposite. I started picturing every moment Moonbyul and I shared these past few months, after the threat of death was on her. It holds me back from jumping into this new adventure. Before there’s some new danger.

One can’t reiterate it enough. Moonbyul, the person that is constantly on my mind, almost died last time we did this. I was so close to never creating any of the beautiful moments I lock up in my mind like I’m afraid they might disappear because it’s all been so good, almost like it's all been a dream. What if this time around we aren’t so lucky and I lose her? I don’t want to risk losing every new moment we’re going to create together. There’s so much we haven’t done, and I feel like the risk isn’t worth it.

I feel her set a warm hand on my back, and just as a tree leans towards the light, I lean right into her. Our names may indicate that she’s the moon and I’m the sun, but to me she was the light. Because just like that, she eases the tension I’ve been holding. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to ease the worry away. If anything it enhances it.

“What’s on your mind, Solar?” Her breath tickles my ear, her voice low so the others don’t hear. “Share your burden with me.” I want to because together we’re always able to talk through our worries. But this time, I’m afraid the outcome won’t be what I want.

I turn to her and give her a smile I know isn’t convincing enough. “Oh, it’s nothing. I’m just thinking about tomorrow.”

Her eyes search my face, and after a moment she opens her mouth, with words on the tip of her tongue. She closes it and decides against saying anything. Instead, she lifts her hand from my back and smooths down my hair.

“Okay.”

She scoots closer and wraps her arm around my shoulder so I can put more of my weight against her. Wouldn’t I have to be crazy to put this at risk?


	2. Two

Solar's POV

“So what should we watch? I really don’t want to spend an hour looking for something again,” I said the moment I walked into her bedroom. I dropped my bag onto the floor and plopped onto her bed. Her room was just a bit smaller than mine, but I thought that it only made it cozier. Plus, I love that it smelled like her. It was like being surrounded by Byul.

“I mean, you can never got wrong with The Office. Should we just oomph-” Before I could even finish the sentence, Moonbyul tackles me against the mattress. “-put that on?”

“Let’s not put anything on.” She looks down at me with a smirk, holding most of her weight up with her elbows. “Don’t get any wrong ideas. I just want to talk, so don’t be too disappointed.”

I knew where she was going, and I knew it was inevitable that we were going to talk about it. But that never stopped me from trying.

“It’d be so easy not to disappoint me though.” I’m acting shameless in my attempt to sway her. I’m wearing the pout that I know she loves, and of course I gently ran my fingertip up her sensitive arm. It was a little unfair on my part, but like I said, I’m shameless.

It’s all for naught. Byul laughs and shakes her head. “Solar, Solar,” she chides. “Did you really think that was going to work?”

My pout becomes real, and she leans down for quick peck not wanting me to feel bad. “It was really tempting though. I’ll give you that.”

“Yeah?” I smile and pull her down by her collar. “Give me one more shot.”

She gives into my lips for a moment, letting more of her weight press against me. I almost think I’ve won, but that isn’t the case. Not this time.

The moment passes too quickly and she pulls back.

“You’re good,” she murmurs sounding short of breath. “But I have an iron will.”

“Not all the time,” I remind her. There’s been countless times I’ve gotten her to leave her homework unfinished at her desk.

“Well, at least when it comes to you I do.”

She was serious again. Byul was only concerned for me, and I knew that. She was always so attentive, which I loved, but it also meant I couldn’t get away with hiding things away.

“It’s you and me, Solar. Neither of us ever has to go through anything alone anymore because we have each other. That’s our deal. We share our burdens, right?” I nod. “So tell me.”

“Byul, I-” I reach up and push her hair back so that I can see her face better. “I’m scared.”

“Why? Are you scared of what you saw?”

“No, I’m scared that this will lead us into another dangerous adventure, and I’m afraid that you’ll get hurt.”

“So you were holding this back because you were afraid to follow your vision? You don’t want to do it because of my safety?”

“Yes.”

“If it makes you happy, then we won’t do it. We’ll just put on The Office and move on.”

“I mean we have to help them though, don’t we?”

“Solar, you mean more to me than anyone and anything. If you don’t want to do this, and instead live your life like a normal person, I will support you. I am not going to make you do anything you don’t want to. And I’ll do what you do. I don’t need anything else but you.”

I know she means every word with no judgement. Her gaze is intense, and I can’t look away.

“But, Byul… I don’t think I could live with the guilt of not trying to help. Whoever this was called for me.”

“I don’t think this is ever going away, Solar. Do you plan on helping them all?”

“If I don’t try, what does that make me?”

She looked away for a moment with a crinkle in her brow. She must have been having moral questionings now too.

When she met my eyes again, she didn’t look anymore assured. “Then we try and help?” She looked unsure. I can’t blame her when I don’t even know what I want. She sees that after I fail to respond. “Why don’t you just tell me what you saw before we make any decisions?”

She picks herself off me and sits up. I get up too and sit crossed leg while facing her.

“The vision was really weird and unclear. Every time I try to picture it again, it only seems to get blurrier, and I don’t know why that’s happening.”

“You can’t make out any full form? Were their eyes covered maybe?”

I try to summon a picture of what I had seen, but like a dream, it’s hard to recall.

“I don’t know. I didn’t hear anything either.” I mutter disappointed in myself.

“Hey, that’s okay.” She pats my thigh. “What was this person feeling? Scared probably, but anything else?”

I had actually been so focused on the picture I hadn’t thought too much about the person’s feelings. Maybe that’s why it was so easy to consider not helping them. Maybe that was my subconscious intention. But it was unavoidable now, so I closed my eyes and tried to remember.

So I’ll admit that I wasn’t trying too hard before, but I’ve finally come to my senses. Or maybe I’ve let go of them. The only thing I know for sure right now is that I’m trying to do the right thing. So I have to put my full focus on this. I have my eyes shut, I’m breathing deeply, and I’m concentrating. Well, I’m trying to.

It’s just that it almost seems impossible when I don’t have anyone to focus on. I don’t know anything about the person I’m trying to pin down. It’s like trying to navigate somewhere when you have no destination in mind.

But I know that after I’ve tuned in once it’s a lot easier from then on. I just have to find the right frequency. Someone was sending out a stress signal, and there is no way I’m going to let it go unanswered.

So what could I do to reconnect? This is where I was at a loss. Maybe I can think about what I do know about this person’s situation, but even then it was spotty. For some reason, the transmission was fuzzy. Like I was watching a show on an old television and the antenna wasn’t in the right position. I could hardly make out any sound or picture, but that wasn’t the only thing that was important. Byul was right. I could get in through their emotions too.

They were feeling scared, of course, but at the same time there was this small curiosity in the corner of their mind, which is not something I was expecting. Yet, the overwhelming feeling that seemed to encompass them was confinement. Not the same trapped feeling that Krystal experienced, but like a hindrance.

Did that have anything to do with the failed connection? For now, I could only assume yes. I tried one last push to get more, but that was all for now. It was a lot more work than usual. It had started coming easier after all the practice I’ve gotten, but it was almost like when I first started. I felt tired.

“Alright, you’ve done all you could. Come on now, let’s put on the show.”

Byul ushered me back against the headboard and made sure I had enough cushion for my back all while trying not to show how anxious she was. I smiled because it was unnecessary, but it was sweet and I didn’t mind anyway.

“Are you hungry? Want me to get you something to eat?”

"No, no. I’m fine just get over here.” I patted spot next to me that shouldn’t have been empty.

“Okay.” She crawled over and stationed herself by me. “But if you change your mind.”

“Byul,” I laughed. “You’re overreacting. I’m all good. Just set it up.”

 

Hwasa's POV

 

Wheein looked down at her phone and groaned for the fifth time.

“They still aren’t replying. I guess they didn’t change their minds after all.” Wheein pouted very cutely. I was a little disappointed too because we’ve been seeing them a lot less lately. But at the same time, it meant I got to be alone with Wheein, which was just as good if not better.

“Well then, forget them. I didn’t really feel like watching a movie anyway. Let’s do something else.” I suggest without needing to be hopeful because we were already friends, but that’s all we were. Just friends.

“Like what?” She looks at me with big curious eyes, and it’s reflex for me to smile when she sets those dark eyes of hers on me.

“I don’t know…” I click my tongue thinking. Suddenly my smile turns into a mischievous grin, and I see her eyes become alive with excitement. “You want to go somewhere new?”

“What do you have in mind?”

“How do you feel about surprises?” I turn on the bike and reach for our helmets.

“I am willing to make an exception this time.” She snatches her helmet from my grasp and puts it on in record time. “I just hope I’m not getting excited for no reason.”

“You probably are, but it’s better than here. So I will not tolerate any whining if it’s not your taste.” My grip on the handle bars tighten a little because suddenly I'm nervous that she’d be let down.

My heart jumps a little when she gets behind me and wraps her arms around my waist. Usually, when we’re just hanging out casually, it isn’t a problem. But sometimes, there’s a change. A small change in the atmosphere that allows me to grow hopeful.

“Don’t worry your butt. As long as it’s you and me, I can’t possibly not have a good time.”

Those words allow my grip to loosen, and the easy smile I usually have with Wheein comes back.

“I feel the same,” I murmur quietly. She may not have even heard me over the rumbling of the bike.

 

The place I take her isn’t exactly one she hasn’t heard of, but I know she never actually went in. Anyway, I’m sure she hasn’t thought about it since we came here to follow Kai. The Two Keys Tavern.

As soon as I stop the bike, she jumps off. I guess I did good.

“This is where you and Byul went before you broke into the school!” She turns from the building to look at me with a million watt smile that I’m sure could replace the sun. Not even trying to sound cliché. It’s just true.

“Ah, so you’re not disappointed? I didn’t think you’d be.”

“Let’s go in! Then you can tell me how it all happened!” Wheein grabs my arms and starts dragging me towards the door. I let her lead me as I will my heart to calm down.

“But I told you about that already.”

“Pfft. Hardly. Maybe you’ll tell it better in the place it all started. Plus, maybe your story telling skills will improve after having something to drink.” She pushes past the door, and immediately squeezes my arm when the air hits her. “It really does smell like autumn!”

She turns to look at me with amazement. This old run down place isn’t exactly Disneyland, but she’s certainly acting like it is.

Wheein shrinks back a little after realizing that we were still minors. Not that that would stop us, but she wasn’t familiar with how it worked here.

I easily take the lead and walk up to the counter. When the bartender turns to look at whose come in, I nod at him.

“Hey! Haven’t seen you in a while.” The lumberjack looking guy greets me with a friendly smile. “Where’s Moonbyul?” He quickly puts up his hand before I can respond. “She’s with her girlfriend isn’t she?”

“Isn’t she always?”

“Hmm. I know how that is.” He pauses for a second with a nostalgic look on his gruff face. “Well, tell her to bring her girlfriend and her toolbox for a visit. My bike needs a tune-up.”

“I’ll make sure she comes right away.”

“I trust you will. Even if you have to drag her in here.” He grins and grabs two glasses. His attention moves over to Wheein, who’s curiously looking around. “You’re a cute one. What’s your name?”

Her head snaps towards him after I bump her with my shoulder, she hadn’t noticed he was talking to her. She smiles shyly and leans closer to me. “I’m Wheein.”

“Wheein, it’s nice to meet you. I’ve Vince.” He reaches his hand out for a shake.

She moves away from me to grab his hand, and I can see she’s already feeling more comfortable. “Nice to meet you too.”

“I hope a beer will work for you.”

“A beer sounds great.” She hops on the stool and grabs the drink he’s poured for her. “I can’t believe it took her this long to bring me here, Vince.”

I take a seat on the stool next to her and grab the glass he’s poured for me.

“Me neither.” Vince shakes his head in disbelief. “Hwasa, is this bar not good enough for your date? It isn’t easy keeping it smelling this good, and you have the audacity to not visit.”

I almost spat out my drink when he called Wheein my date, luckily I was able to keep it in. I quickly glance over at Wheein to see her reaction, but I can only see her amused eyes behind the glass.

“Um… She’s not-”

“Really Hwasa, this place is ten times more romantic than half of the places you take me.”

I know Vince was a very likeable guy, but I don’t even think I got along with him this fast. I was already getting whiplash from their banter.

“Hwasa, you aren’t treating your girls how I taught you to. I tried my best, Wheein. I told her over and over th-”

“Alright, I get it. We’ll visit more often. Lay off me, will you?”

Vince let’s out a deep laugh. “That’s all I wanted to hear.”

“Hey, Vince?” Wheein calls. Her glass is already half empty.

“What’s up?”

“Do you know about Hwasa and Moonbyul breaking into the school?”

I laugh, already knowing how this is going to go.

“Do I?! Of course I do! Hey Hwasa, that was quite the night wasn’t it?” He asks me with a broad smile.

“Sure was.” I say before taking another small sip. I have to be responsible because I’m not going to risk driving Wheein home in a bad state.

“Ooo! Tell me about it!” Wheein hops excitedly on her stool and looks over at me with a beaming smile. I really didn’t think it was possible to fall deeper for her, but here I was in a grimy tavern doing exactly that.

“Alright, but I should serve myself a beer too. Hey, looks like you need a refill anyway. I got you.”

“Don’t drink too fast, Wheein.”

“I’m okay.”

“Yeah, she’s okay. When did she become a party pooper, Wheein?” He stops moving for a second and smiles. “Ah, I see. It must be l-“ I set my cup down hard so he can’t finish. He glances at me confused, but he soon realizes his mistake when he catches my glare.

“Must be what?”

“Oh, nothing. It’s not my place to say after all.”

He sets a new glass in front of Wheein, and then claps his hands together.

“Story time.”

 

 

I stop in front of Wheein’s house and hold her arm as she tries to get off. I knew she was drinking too much. At least I’ll know for next time what she can handle. She’s not too far gone though. She’s just all giggly and it’s really cute honestly.

“Hwasa, unclasp my helmet for me.” I stand up and move towards her where she’s standing on the sidewalk.

“Have you lost all your motor skills already, baby Wheein?”

“Pfft, no. I just have moves.”

“Moves? What’s that supposed to mean?”

She doesn’t answer.

“I had a lot of fun tonight. I really like Vince. Now he knows how to tell a story!” She leans forward as she laughs and grabs my arm. “You broke into the school because you got defensive about your lock picking skills.”

“Wouldn’t you? I’ve been doing that kind of stuff since I was four!”

“And then you were going to use the fact that you were covered in pool water as proof that you succeeded.” I can hardly understand her because she's laughing so hard, but her laughter was contagious. It has me chuckling with her.

“There’s no other pool in the area. It was good proof. Plus, I always wanted to do it. Hit two birds with one stone that way.”

She was laughing so hard now I was almost a concerned, but she eventually took a deep breath and calmed down.

“That’s hilarious. You’re hilarious. I knew there was more to that story too!”

She wiped some water from her eyes and looks at me. Her eyes are clear again.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For tonight, for the ride, for being you.”

“Oh, no problem. I had fun too.”

We quietly looked at each other, neither of us willing to turn away. I glanced at her lips and thought about leaning in, but couldn’t. Nothing usually made me nervous. Nothing. Yet, the thought of kissing Wheein caused a trillion of butterflies to appear in my stomach and flutter around like they were trying to break their way out. I just can't get myself to move any closer.

“Well, I guess I should go inside.”

“Of course. Your parents are probably waiting. Plus, it’s freezing out here.”

She smiles and nods, but it kind of looks sad.

“Goodnight.” She quickly leans up and kisses my cheek.

Before I even process the moment, she’s waving from her door.

“See you later!”

“S-See you later!”

I robotically get back on my bike and clasp my helmet on. It’s not until I’m about to take off that I let out a proud grin.


	3. Three

It started off distorted just like before, but then there was a sudden change. Like a switch had been flicked.

“Don’t call her by her name. You’ll get attached. Patient number 22, subject number 22, whatever just not her name. There’s no reason we need to make this harder, got it?”

“Yes, Ma’am.” The man responded like he would to a superior officer.

There was a sigh from the woman. “Don’t be like that. I could tell that the last subject got to you. I’m just watching out for you.”

“Alright, sorry. Let me just get her up.”

She was already awake, but she wished she was still asleep, where she could pretend all this was just a dream. The girl savored the last moments of shut eye and relative peace she’d have for a while.

“Hey, get up!" The man yelled loud enough to almost make the girl jump. "We have a surprise for you today.”

She didn’t want to face them, and yet the thought of disobeying them made her heart pummel. The consequences of that may be worse than just facing what was thrown at her today. So she rolled over on the hard bed and opened her eyes.

“It’s going to be another long day, but first-” the man held up a bar of soap, a towel, and a change of plain white clothes. “you get to shower first.”

The feeling of elation she felt was way too much for such simple items and the promise of such a simple task. Yet, it was all she had, so she took it.

She got up and timidly walks towards them. They open a gap so she can walk past them. It all seems routine. They direct her towards a door that leads to a very simple bathroom, which feels like the opposite of homey.

Finally, they offer her the necessities and close the door so she’s finally alone again. The girl looks around, and much like the room she came from, there wasn’t much to look at. It’s just another boxlike room. The first thing she notices is that there’s no mirror. She sighs. Just another disappointment. She hasn't been able to see her reflection since she got here. There were no windows, except the one's they had in the test rooms, but those left much to be desired. So, despite having dirty hair and the real need for a shower, what she wanted most was to look at herself. She was starting to feel lost, losing bits and pieces of herself as time went on. She thought that if she could only just look at her reflection, she could ground herself again.

But that wasn’t going to happen, not today. So she quickly turns on the shower because she doubts that they were going to patient about this. She quickly washes herself, but slows down once she’s rinsing off the last bit of soap.

Suddenly, the water stops running over her. I thought it had been because they cut off the supply or something. The reality was much more impressive. The water was suspended in the air before her. The mass gets bigger as more water pours out of the shower head, and she starts playing with it. The water shapes into impressive designs, she even changes it to ice and back. Still more water collects and it eventually becomes a giant mass of water about the size of a person.

The mass moves over towards her body, and just before she submerges herself with it, she takes a deep breathe. Her body rakes with sobs as she lets her tears mix seamlessly with the water all around her. No one will know about it except her and me because there’s no sound, not while she’s enveloped. She keeps herself submerged for too long, and I can feel the struggle she has to keep the water’s shape. But she’s able to keep it up long enough for the threat of passing out. Just moments before that, the water all drops at once, slapping the floor loudly.

She takes in all the air she can, and calms herself down. She moves on like nothing happened. The thought of making them wait too long pushes her forward. She pushes the plastic curtain aside and grabs the towel to dry herself off. Then she dresses in the all-white outfit, and knocks on the door. There’s no time to savor the fact that she’s finally clean again.

The door quickly opens to reveal only the woman now. This time, I’m able to focus on her. The woman wears a white lab coat, and looks every bit professional. Which is threatening in a way, but in no way does it subtract from her beauty.

“Good. You look much better already.” The woman smiles slightly looking the girl up and down. She nods satisfied and motions for the girl to follow her. “After we have breakfast, we’ll have to get started.”

The beautiful woman eventually opens another door that leads into a much nicer room than the white halls we’ve been walking through. The brown wooden cabinets and table are a relief on the eyes, even if they too are plain because at least finally, there was some variation.

It smells nice too. There’s bacon and eggs on two plates, and a separate plate holds perfect looking toast. It’s a sight that makes the girl salivate.

The woman turns and smiles, still she holds a satisfied look. “It’s much better isn’t it? That’s because I made breakfast today.”

The girl doesn’t move. She feels slightly unsettled like she’s being tricked, but she wants to believe that pretty smile. Even after hearing the words from earlier, it's much easier to believe that maybe the woman was good after all. She did always treat her kindly, at least when they were alone.

“Well, come on now. It’s already getting cold.” The woman reaches for the girl’s hand, and she can’t help but flinch. A small frown forms on the woman’s face. She tries again, slower this time.

“Let’s eat. Shall we?”

The girl looks at the woman, her heart beating furiously. But she puts on a calm charade, and nods slightly. The woman leads her over to the table and pulls out a chair for her. Once she’s settled, the woman takes the seat across from her.

“Go on. You’ve gotten quite thin since arriving. Eat some bacon.”

The girl looks down at her plate, and can’t help it anymore. She reaches for the bacon, and takes a bite. It might be because she hasn’t had good tasting food in a while, but it tastes like the most delicious thing ever.

“There you go. I knew you were hungry.” The woman encourages her softly. She has a quiet voice that sounds pleasant to the girl and it helps her believe what she's been trying to convince herself. The women couldn't be bad if she made this for her, could she?

The girl nods and continues to devour the food. She reaches for a piece of perfect toast, which I’m slightly envious of, and eats it in just four bites.

“Oh, shoot!” The girl looks up when the woman quickly gets up from her seat. She watches her quickly walk to the counter and grab something.

When the woman turns around, I’m able to see an odd helmet with an intricate designs of wires, it's clearly not meant for protection.

“I forgot to put this back on.”

The woman walks back over, and the girl automatically turns towards the woman and looks up.

“Thank you. Alright, on it goes.”

Once it’s placed on her head, the static returns once again.

Solar's POV

I burst out of the vision breathing hard. I look around frantically still feeling unsettled and enclosed, but Byul’s there to calm me down.

“Woah, woah, Solar. It’s okay, you’re still in my room.” She rubs my back in soothing circles and I’m quickly able to catch my bearings, but it doesn’t chase away the fear. A selfish fear. A fear I felt for myself, and an even stronger fear I felt for Moonbyul. We weren’t the only ones with gifts, and even worse, there were other people already curious about us.

“Byul, I-” I cough not realizing how thirsty I was. She uncaps a water bottle she has on her nightstand and hands it to me. I quickly gulp it down and finally look at Byul, who’s looking worried.

“I was able to get in.”

She’s quiet thinking that I was going to continue, but I don’t. It was a chilling sight that truly shook me to the core. I know I haven’t even seen the worst of it, but the fear she felt when she even considered disobeying was a clear enough to understand.

“So, what’d you see?”

“Have you ever thought about the possibility that there are other people out there that are like us?”

I can tell from the look on her face that she knows that this isn’t just a random question.

“The thought may have crossed my mind once or twice.” She moves so she’s sitting in front of me. “What exactly did you see?”

“The distressed person that reached out to me is a girl that’s like us. She’s being held in some sort of facility, with white halls and small rooms. I didn’t really see anything, like what they were doing with her, but I saw why she was there. Why they wanted her.”

My heart started racing just thinking about it. All of it. There were more people out there like us! Which is something I’ve thought about fleetingly, but I didn’t ever think it would matter if there was. I didn’t know about them until it happened to me, so what were the chances that I would cross the path of someone with a scar like Moonbyul’s and mine after? That’s how I thought about it.

The unnerving part was that there were people out there willing to keep someone against their will to understand the phenomenon better. What did that mean for us? Didn’t it just make the risk bigger?

Moonbyul quickly picked up on my unease and grabbed my hand. “Why did they want her, Solar?”

“I’m not exactly sure what she had, but I do know that she was able to move water with her mind. It was… remarkable.”

My mind goes back to the sight I had seen. It was like real life water bending, and it was just as beautiful as it had been depicted.

Moonbyul’s mouth opens in awe and her eyes unfocus for a moment, I’m sure she’s trying to picture it. She shakes her head and swallows. She’s finally realized what this meant.

“She’s their experiment. We’re not a secret.” The disbelief was evident in her voice.

“At least, not as secret as we thought.”

She looks down at her left arm. I can feel how shaken she is. As I’m about to reach out to her, she clenches her fist. She’s shaken, but that doesn’t stop the anger from rising.

“We have to get her out of there. I’ll text Wheein and Hwasa to meet us at the garage.”

 

Wheein's POV

I knew immediately from Moonbyul’s text that the meeting at the garage wasn’t about the fun day out we had planned for. She was direct and short about it, plus she didn’t reply when I responded. I thought I’d feel dread if we ever had to go through another risky adventure like last time, but for some reason the thought of it excited me. It shouldn’t, right? I mean dealing with Daeho and Kai was really truly terrifying. There was a real chance that one of us could have died. I mean Byul got shot! She was close to death, and this time she was lucky. Yet, my heart has picked up at the thought of another adventure, and it wasn’t because of fear.

Before I could fully understand my reaction, my phone interrupted me. A reflexive tug pulled at my lips when I saw the caller ID, and I immediately accepted the call. I don’t even remember when that started happening. Just seeing her name made me giddy, and I didn’t hate it. I didn’t even want to deny it, but I tried not to dwell too much on it. Not when I didn’t know where her heart stood.

I know that I could ask Solar about it, but I didn’t want to find out that way. I wanted to hear it from Hwasa herself.

“Hey, Hwasa. You got the text too?” I asked while finally sitting up in bed.

“Yep. What do you think it’s about? I get the feeling that we’re in for another crazy ride, especially after what happened yesterday. I just can’t figure out why I’m not upset about it. Or at least anxious. That’s wrong of me, isn’t it? I mean considering everything that happened.”

I truly felt a lot better knowing that I wasn’t the only reacting this way. We were different in a lot of ways, yet our differences didn't stop us from ending up on the same page.

“Maybe it is wrong, but if I’m honest, I feel the exact same way.”

I could tell she was now smiling on her end, and for some reason the thought that I seemed to always manage to make her smile made me blush slightly. I liked it too much.

“I’m glad I’m not the only one.” She pauses. “Should I pick you up then?”

“At this rate, my cars going to be rusty by the next time I use it.” I laughed. But who could blame me? Was I supposed to refuse a ride with Hwasa?

“So is that a no?”

“Definitely not. Give me thirty minutes.” I made my way to my drawers to get a fresh pair of clothes, so I could shower. I think I smelled a little like beer from the night before.

“You’re still in bed?” Hwasa tuts. “Alright, lazy. See you soon.”

“I’m not- Oh, she hung up.”

 

There were others like Solar and Moonbyul!! I had never even considered it. I don’t know why I didn’t when the fact that the both of them have it should be enough to lead to that conclusion. I guess it’s because I had a romanticized way of thinking about it all. I tended to do that sometimes. My mom told me I was a dreamer and I had gotten it from her. She said it was the way most artists were.

I thought the gang was special, like a group from a movie or comic. I didn’t matter that I didn’t have a power, just being in the group with them was enough.

 

“So where are we supposed to go from here? I mean, you don’t really know anything.” I raised a fist to my chin and tried to think of my own idea. I may have a romanticized way of viewing the world at large, but I did know that there was a real life at stake. More than adventure, I wanted to help. I don’t ever want that misinterpreted. My mind sometimes wandered on its own, but I knew when to ground it.

“We don’t know. We’re stumped at the moment. She could honestly be anywhere right now. It’s possible she’s not even in the same state, but I have a feeling she’s close.” Solar lifted a hand to her chest and patted where her scar was absent mindedly.

Moonbyul had walked in looking particularly upset between the two, and the look hasn’t left her face. “I guess for now, the only thing we can do is wait for Solar to make another break through and hope it gets us somewhere.”

“Why are you keeping all that anger in, Byul? Tell us what’s on your mind.” Hwasa spoke up from her seat next to me. She was casually slouching on the couch like it was any other day. It was funny how even this seemed not to faze her.

“How did they even find out about that girl? I mean, what the fuck? Are we at risk too?” She indicated to Solar and herself.

Shit. I hadn’t even considered that either. I glanced at Solar, who definitely had. There was evident worry on her face, and my initial excitement seemed dumb and naïve now. I could make it up to her, it just meant I had to shoulder some of this for them. I helped last time, but maybe this time I could do more. I just had to figure out how. I didn’t have any gifts like them, so I had to be crafty.

“Maybe, but you’re aware of them now. You’ll know to watch out, and now you have the advantage.” Hwasa assured her sitting up a little straighter. I bet she felt the guilt too.

Moonbyul’s jaw remained tight for a moment, but soon she relaxed a bit.

“Yeah, you’re right. We just have to be careful from here on out. Once we find the girl, at least we’ll know the faces behind the organization.”

 

 

How did they find their subjects? That question Byul asked, stuck with me. There was one easy way I could think of, the internet. Of course . What was the first thing Solar did when she was struck? She went to the internet to find information. The thing is, she looked only before she knew about her powers, and so did I. We never checked again because we found Byul and things were just crazy in general right from the get go. Byul looked too; although, I’m not sure about the details, it was possible that the page was just made recently. My point is, maybe there was something we all missed.

So after we had separated from the other two, I had Hwasa bring me to my house so I could get to my computer.

“So what are you going to type?” Hwasa asked sitting next to me eager to help.

“Um, let’s see. I guess if it were me I would put something like ‘struck by lightning’ and ‘powers’.” I clicked enter and immediately saw stuff that looked unrelated, but I held onto hope. I scrolled to the bottom and clicked page two.

“Look at that one!” Hwasa pointed out excitedly. “It seems promising.”

“Which on- Oh.”

There was a blue link before me that was titled “When lightning struck my...” It did look very promising, and so I clicked on it.

It led me to a plain looking blog that may have been the jackpot.

 

\-----------------------------------

yo hey

thanks for your kind words

they warmed my heart truly

hope you're ready for the ride cuz i don't know what i'm doing lol


	4. four

When lighting struck my brother, he gained the ability to read minds.

If you’ve found this page, chances are that you didn’t randomly stumble upon it. After the incident I experienced, I did the same thing. I researched to see if I was the only one to have seen such a magnificent thing. I can assure you right now that you’re not. It’s probably scary for you, and I understand that. So allow me to tell you my story, so that maybe you’ll feel more comfortable with me. I am a complete stranger after all.

For me, it all happened fourteen years ago. At that time, I still had my little brother. Before you get afraid that the strike was the reason he died, that’s only part of it. We actually didn’t know until then, but my brother had a heart disease and he wasn’t strong enough to survive it. I am certain things are different for you, dear reader.

My younger brother begged me to take him to the park on that nice overcast day, and even after many refusals, he persisted. It was one of those times you just had to say yes so he’d calm down. So I took him, and things were fine for a while. Actually, it seemed to be quite nice a day, and I wouldn’t have been surprised to see that we weren’t the only ones there. But we were because, as I learned later, the weather man predicted with certainty rain, rain, lightning, and thunder. No one in their right mind wanted to get caught in the storm that was predicted.

Boy was he right. I saw the darker clouds quickly roll in, and I knew it was time we left. I called my brother to come back so we could leave, but he was so stubborn. He had to finish his game with his imaginary friend. I realized at some point that yelling wasn’t enough, I had to climb up the jungle gym to drag him back to the car myself. I pulled him half way to the car before he was able to wriggle out of my grasp. He only ran a couple of feet before I was blinded by a bright light that shot down from the dark sky.

When my vision finally cleared, I for a moment, thought my brother had been abducted because I didn’t see him. Turns out, he had just been thrown so far I couldn’t make his body out through the now pouring rain. He was completely out when I got to him, but I saw his chest barely rise and fall. I scooped him up, and dashed to my car. I drove us to the nearby Emergency room as fast as I dared. I was just happy the roads were clear.

If it weren’t for his weak heart, he would have been fine. It didn’t take long for him to wake up, and when he did he acted brave and smiled. We could all see that it was a struggle, and we all knew there wasn’t much time left. His heart was slowly giving out, and I could blame no one but myself.

My parents and I never left his side for as long as we had him. He tried to act like his old self, but there were little differences. He would answer questions that never left our thoughts and we never could keep anything a secret around him. He just knew everything before it was said.

What could we think of it? Nothing that would come close to the truth. I never would have known if he didn’t decide to let me in.

When our parents had gone out to get food one day, I sat quietly in a chair moping in my guilt while I thought he slept.

I should have just said no and stayed firm, then we wouldn’t be here right now. He spoke up just as that thought ended and startled me.

“It was my own fault. You were just trying to be a good sister.”

I knew I didn’t say anything out loud. The room was dead silent before that moment.

“How’d you do that?” I asked while slowing standing up. Something really did change with him, I realized.

He shrugged “Come here and check something for me.”

I was about to protest and demand he tell me, but I knew my brother, so instead I just did as he asked and went over to his side.

“When I hear your thoughts, my head tingles a bit. Check it out for me. Is there anything there?”

I heard what he said, but instead of processing it, I moved some of his dark hair to expose some of his scalp. Pink scars followed the veins under his hair, making a web.

“Is there anything there?”

“So this is where you were struck. No wonder you didn’t remember anything.”

“I was really struck by lightning? Cool.”

“Yeah, and now it seems you can read minds...”

It wasn’t long after that he passed away. That stormy evening changed my life in many ways, as I’m sure it will change yours.

I just want you, dear reader, to know that you are not alone, and I am here. I know more now than I did then, and if you want to learn what that is, email me. I would be more than happy to share with you, and maybe if you’d like, you can share your experience with me. It’s as simple as reaching out.

Wheein's POV

Could this really be the person that has a girl locked up for experimentations? I know that they weren’t going to be blatant about it, but I almost didn’t want them to be a part of it. It seemed genuine, the story and everything. Yet, there was a possibility that all of this was fabricated.

“What do you think? Do you think that this is some sort of ploy to get scared people to put their trust in them?” I turned to Hwasa. She was looking at the screen with narrowed eyes like she was trying to see through the screen. She sat back and replaced the narrowed eyes with a cute crinkle in her brow.

“Hmm. I mean, that’s possible… Why don’t we look on some other pages to see if there’s anything else. Then we’ll come back and face the truth our parents have been telling since day one; never trust anyone on the internet.”

“Okay, yeah. That’s a good idea.”

It didn’t amount to anything. So we were back on the blog, now with the mouse hovering over the email link that was provided.

“Should we do it now or wait to tell the other two?” My heart was pounding, if I’m to be honest. This really seems like a messed up way to find people you’re going to take and do who knows what to them. They just go on and promise a person a bit of comfort right before they strike?

I mean we weren’t sure yet if that was the case, but I had a feeling. Plus, I couldn’t think of another way they could find who they were looking? Well, I guess they could look through medical records… That would explain why Solar and Moonbyul were safe right now. Solar didn’t go to the hospital, and although Moonbyul did, no one knew about the lightning.

Even then, this seemed like a more efficient way. This way made these scared and confused people reach out to them. Pretty genius, actually.

“We can just send it now, and maybe by the time we tell them we’ll have a response.”

“Alright, but what do we write?”

“May I?” Hwasa reached her arms out for the keyboard, so I nodded and scooched over so she could get closer. “I’m just going to use Moonbyul’s story. Let’s hope something comes out of this.”

 

“All done. Does it look good?”

“Yes, send it.” I burst of butterflies spread out through my stomach and I let out a frustrated yell. “Ahh! I can’t wait here for a reply. Take me somewhere.” I grabbed her arm and pulled her out of my room.

Hwasa tipped her head back and laughed. “Okay, okay, Wheein. Calm down.”

 

Solar's POV

“Are you sure there are no bears?”

Moonbyul chuckled softly besides me, and squeezes my hand. “Solar, how many times do I have to assure you? There are no bears. It’s winter anyway, they’re hibernating.”

Maybe we should be hibernating too. It was so cold. But instead, we were laying back on the grass, looking up at the stars because I couldn’t take being in my room. Where I would just keep thinking about our current problem.

“I don’t know. You could just be lying so you can see one of your brethren, the moon bear.”

“You’re right, I miss them. I was hoping they’d eat you for me too.”

I reached over to try and smack her, but even while laughing she managed to block me. I huffed and layed back down, smiling.

“Isn’t it funny how there’s a sun and moon bear? It’s cute, isn’t it? There's a Solar bear and a Moonbyul bear.”

“Yeah, pretty cute. Except the sun bear is kinda ugly… Well, I guess that isn’t too far from us...”

“Moonbyul, I swear I’m gonna kill you!” I roll over so I can tickle attack her. She immediatly tries to wriggle away.

“No! No, Solar! Please! You know I’m kidding!”

She eventually pins my hands together and stares up at me with a flushed smile on her face.

“You know what I really think of you, right?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I do.” I mean, of course I did.

“What do I think of you?”

“Um… You think I’m beautiful?” Putting it into words was another thing.

“Yes. And?”

“And… Funny?”

“Yes. You’re the funniest person I know. Go on.”

“I don’t know... Smart?”

She smirks a little. “You definitely have your moments but yes, you’re very smart.”

“Moonbyul, I don’t know what you’re getting at.”

“You’re also, kind, generous, brave, and overall perfect to me. I just want you to know, that however this turns out. If we can’t do it this time, if we can’t succeed, I’ll still see you the same. I’ll love you just the same.” She finally let go of my hands, so she could push my hair back and hold my face. “I know that the burden feels heavier on you because you have to give us some insight, but I never want you to feel pressured. We may have powers, but we’re not Superwoman. There’s only so much we can do. I know earlier I was kind of… Well, I was angry.”

“But nothing’s changed, you matter to me the most. So if we can’t do it, so be it.”

Why is she always so romantic? I hated it when my throat tightened up.

“You’re so sappy.”

“Admit it. You love it.”

“Face it Byul, no one loves it.” A voice interrupted out of nowhere.

I turned my head and saw Hwasa and Wheein coming out from behind the dark trees. I turned back to Byul, she looked just as surprised as I felt.

“You didn’t hear them?”

“It’s hard to care what’s going on out there, when I have you here with me.” She grinned teasingly.

“And she’s still going at it.” Wheein said shaking her head.

“I got so lost in your eyes, nothing else mattered.”

Wheein gagged.

“Moonbyul, please.” Hwasa pled.

I laughed and slapped her shoulder blushing just hoping the two other girls couldn’t see. “No, for real though, you didn’t hear them?” I knew that she closes her surroundings off sometimes, but it was never one hundred percent off.

“Yeah, and I’ve gotten good at blocking things out. I guess we both can always improve.” She grinned proud, and I could help but smile in response to evident her pride.

I guess, I always sort of considered her at her optimal skill when it concerned her ability. She was always the one teaching me, after all.

“But that means you lied about the bears.”

“Trust me. There are no-“

“I think I just heard about a bear attack last week.” Hwasa interrupted.

“Me too. I heard it was brutal.” Wheein murmured. “Sad.”

I laughed at their antics, then at Moonbyul’s reaction to it.

“Who even invited you guys out here?” Moonbyul murmured bitterly as I helped pull her into a sitting position.

“We came to make sure you guys weren’t tainting our spot. Looks like we caught you guys just in time.” Wheein explained sitting down near us.

“Ooh. I guess you don’t know about those other times we came out here to taint up the place.” I said leaning back into Byul’s arms. “Huh, Byul?”

“We did some major tainting. Like on that rock over there and that log.” She pointed and I nodded along.

“Even in the spot you’re sitting in.” I added.

“Ew. Stop.” Wheein covered her ears and leaned into Hwasa, who laughed and threw an arm around her shoulder.

I didn’t miss how close they were to each other. I knew where things were almost certainly heading, and it made me happy for them. But sometimes, I wanted to yell at them to just talk to each other about it because it was frustrating to know all their feelings. But I knew it was right to just let them be.

“We should bring a grill out here and make us some steaks or something.” Hwasa suggested looking up at the moon.

“Yeah! We can have a barbeque with beer and stuff.” Wheein grinned excited at the thought.

“We could use the small grill my dad has but never uses.” I turned to look at Wheein, knowing she’d know exactly what I was talking about.

“Oh yeah! He still owes me a steak!”

“I shall fulfill his promise for him, Wheein. I shall.”

“Are you good at grilling though?”

“Hwasa is.” Moonbyul interjected.

“You are?” Wheein turned to her amazed.

“Yep.”

“And you never told me?” Wheein asked in disbelief.

“It was never relevant until now.”

“Anything pertaining to food is always relevant. That settles it though. This is happening.” Wheein said.

“I’m in.” We all chimed in one by one.

At that moment, everything seemed right out there, under the moon.


	5. Five

The first thing Solar saw was the beautiful scientist’s face up close, removing the helmet from the girl’s head. “There you go. There’s no reason to have that on right now.” She set it delicately in the floor because there was no other place to put it. Then the pretty girl in the white lab coat helped the younger, exhausted girl onto the hard mattress. “It was a hard day, and I’m sorry for that. They don’t seem to understand that performance would be better if they pulled back and let you breathe.”

The girl let out a bitter laugh knowing full well that there was no chance they would pull back. She wanted to reply but she was too busy trying to get comfortable in the sorry excuse for a bed. She only had enough energy for one thing at a time.

Her attempts were seeming to be fruitless, so she paused for a moment to reply. “I know you have little control over what goes on… They sure like to see performance under stress that’s all I know.” The girl said and looked over at the woman who now had her hands stuffed in the pockets of her coat, looking a lot smaller than usual. Wendy was still questioning the scientist’s motives.

“Yes, that seems to be a major objective of theirs. My guess is that they want to see if stress will cause an instinctual survival mechanism that will enhance your powers... Here – let me.” She bent over to fix the pillow behind the girls head and tucked the blanket in.

She felt a lot more comfortable, and the exhaustion was starting to ware in, maybe that’s what made her state what was on her mind more bluntly.

“You know, I don’t know whether or not I can trust you. I heard what you said to your colleague the other day, about not calling me by my real name and keeping a distance between us, but you seem to have no problem with either of those things. It just has me confused.” She blinked up at her, heavy lidded.

“Oh, you heard that? I just… I just- It’s too late for me, and I was trying to keep him from it. You are… I care about you too much, and it hurts. It makes everything harder, and that doesn’t help when I know there’s nothing I can do to help. No matter how much I want to. No matter how much I…” She cleared her throat and turned towards the door. “I’ll be back later to put the helmet back on. They won’t be happy if they found out that it was removed, and it’s not likely it will be me they punish. For now, just get some rest. I’ll see you soon, Wendy.”

Despite everything, the way her name left the woman’s lips made her heart do a little flip. Which only made the girls eyebrows crinkle. She really shouldn’t be having these feelings. Not from anyone in here, and yet…

The worn out girl watched the woman leave, closing the heavy door behind her. She desperately wanted to believe that she had at least one ally on her side, yet in her situation she’s having a hard time trusting the scientist’s true intentions. She did recognize that she missed the calming presence that girl seemed to provide. It was definitely wrong to feel that, but there wasn’t much else to look forward to. Just her and sleep. Right now she needed sleep, so she turned away and closed her eyes. She fell into a dreamless sleep in just moments.

 

“Do you trust her?” I asked Moonbyul after telling her about the vision and the girl’s mixed up feelings for the scientist.

“I don’t know. There’s really no way I could. I don’t know anything about her except your secondhand accounts.”

“I know but if she is as honest as she seems, maybe she can be our way in.”

“Can’t you just check her intentions by empathically connecting with her?”

“That’s- That’s a fair point. I guess I could give it a go tonight, but is it worth it if there’s no way to get to her?”

“Well if anything, she has more access to the compound then Wendy, so maybe she’ll see something that’ll help us.” Moonbyul said as she was getting up. I was about to pull her back into the warm bed, when the realization hit me.

“Oh MY GOD!” I said as I hopped off my bed and went straight towards my computer to turn it on.

“Woah, what? And shush, you’re going to bring your parents in here.”

“Sorry.” I turned around and covered my mouth. I didn’t want to explain why Moonbyul was in my room this early in the morning. “But I just realized that we have a name. A first one at least.”

Moonbyul’s eyes widened. “Oh yeah.”

 

There’s no way we’re going to get anywhere at this rate. Nothing that could help us was being revealed in the visions, and from what we could find on the internet, there was no missing Wendy. There had to be something else that we could do. I looked outside my window once again to see if Wheein and Hwasa were anywhere to be found. The only thing I noticed was a black car parked across the street and the usual empty driveways at this time. Apparently, Wheein and Hwasa had something they wanted to tell us, and since Moonbyul was already at my place, we decided to have the meeting here.

“What’s taking them so long? Didn’t _they_ want to tell us something?” I blurt out exasperated.

Moonbyul chuckles lowly from my desk chair, where she was scrolling through her phone.

“Patience, Solar. We don’t exactly have anywhere else to be right now anyway.”

“Not today, but tomorrow you have to be gone to help your Aunt’s friend with her car, and that could really set us back. This isn’t exactly something that can be put off.”

“Alright, you’re right about that, but helping my Aunt’s friend shouldn’t take too long. If what Wheein and Hwasa tells us helps in any way, we’ll get working on it as soon as we hear it, and from there we’ll think about the little intermission. There’s nothing we can do right now but wait.”

I can’t do anything but sigh and fall back onto my bed.

“I’m just feeling listless. That’s all. I felt more proactive last time. I knew where to start, at least.”

“I know, babe. Don’t worry, we’ll get there. I know we will.”

My mouth involuntarily quirks up at her positivity, and I turn my head to look at her again.

“Where is all this optimism coming from?”

“Well, someone’s got to pick up the slack around here. There’s way too much negative energy.”

“Alright, alright. Point taken.”

”Good. Well, I can hear Hwasa’s bike, so they should be here any second now to give us the news.”

~~~

“Well, did you get a response?” It seemed too simple. Too simple that the person we were looking for was just waiting there on the internet, and yet it really was plausible that the person they emailed was behind the experiments. It would be easy enough to put up a front, especially on the internet.

“Not yet, but it’s only been two days.” Wheein answered.

“I can’t believe it took you that long to tell us.” I shake my head disapprovingly. It’s a bit hypocritical considering my track record, but hey, I never claimed to be fair.

“We were going to wait until we got a response, but it was taking too long.”

I sighed. I guess it didn’t really make a difference.

“And what exactly did you put in the email?”

“Hwasa and I just put a bit about Moonbyul’s story to make it seem genuine.”

I looked over at Moonbyul who was reading the blog on her laptop with a skeptical eye.

“Well, there’s not much to get from here, but I think it was a good idea to write an email. We can only hope that it will lead somewhere.” Moonbyul finally put her laptop down and turned towards the two younger girls. “It’s better than what we’ve got right now.” She said referring to her and me.

The admission hits me hard, and I involuntarily wince. I really hate having such an incredible power that can still lead me to a dead end, but I guess that’s what friends are for. To help you when you need it.

“Thank god. I was afraid you were going to be mad we used your story.”

“Eh, she wouldn’t dare yell at me.” Hwasa grinned at Moonbyul, who glared back at her. We all knew it was the truth though.

~

“I just checked the email, Solar. Refreshing the page isn’t going to make it come faster.” Wheein said hovering over my shoulder.

“I know but oh-” I freeze shocked to see that my impatient actions were actually rewarded, and I feel the other three girls freeze behind me too. There in the inbox sits a bolded email with the subject line ”I’m so glad to have received your email”.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Click on it.” Hwasa broke the silence and nudged my shoulder, and so I do.

_I’m so glad to have received your email! I’m sorry if I seem too enthusiastic, but it’s always nice to get the opportunity to help another like you. You seem hesitant to reveal much about the powers you’ve obtained, and I suppose I can’t blame you, can I? Maybe, now that you’ve seen that I’m still active and willing to help, you’ll be more open to sharing. Well, regardless, I did promise you some knowledge, didn’t I?_

_What happened isn’t mystical or supernatural, it’s purely scientific. I’ve been working with some others that I’ve found who were just as curious as I about what happened to my brother and others like him and you. It seems that the effects it has on a person vary depending on the gift that they have, which really makes things a lot more interesting, and the possibilities endless. So there’s really no way for me to tell you what happened to you specifically. Unless, you want to come in and find out, but rest assured that I do not expect that at all. I’m sure I can answer some things if you care to share with me. If you don’t feel comfortable with that, don’t worry about it, just let me know._

_Your new Friend,_

_Minji_

 

“This is the person responsible, isn’t it?” Moonbyul breathed out in disbelief. “You guys really found her.”

“We did? How do you know it’s her?” Wheein asked like she didn’t believe it herself.

“The experiments.” Moonbyul and I said at the same time.

Moonbyul continued, “She’s being a lot nicer about it, but this is the girl responsible for those terrible experiments. She gets all her information on these powers from her unethical practice on us.”

“So… How do we find her with this? Should we email her back? I bet she abducts people when they set up a meeting with her to find out more about their powers.” Hwasa mused. “Should we like… set ourselves up?”

“We don’t really know what we’re up against though. We already know she has scientists working for her, but I somehow doubt that’s all. She’s been abducting people until now without getting caught, and I don’t think that’s exactly an easy task.” I respond while swiveling around so I could face them. It seemed like I was curious about how they felt about what I’ve said, but I knew. I always know.

“Everything we do is going to be dangerous. No matter what. We just have to pick our best option.” Hwasa points out.

“She’s right.” Moonbyul nods and looks me, and I nod back like I’m giving in.

I know they’re right, I just want everyone to know the stakes anyway.

 

“Maybe we can just get the address to the facility. We don’t have to show up, at least not the way she would be expecting us to, right?” Wheein responds as she settles into my bed. Hwasa follows suit, and Wheein automatically leans into her.

“So we can set up a sneak attack…” I immediately follow what she’s throwing down. “I like it.”

“It seems like a reasonable idea, but if she wants to meet somewhere other than the facility, what do we do?”

“We can make sure to set it up in a public place. I don’t think she’s going to want to snatch someone up when there’s people around, right? That’d be dumb.” Wheein provides a simple solution.

“And then, from there we can try to get ourselves a ticket into the facility. Easy peasy.” Hwasa adds, wrapping an arm around Wheein’s shoulder, clearly satisfied with the plan.

“Alright, but since you’re her pen pal now, you reply.” Moonbyul stands up from the desk chair and walks over to where I am standing, grabs my hand, and starts leading me out of my room.

She was suddenly anxious. I felt her heart drop into her stomach the moment before she stood up.

~

“Alright fine, you punk!” Hwasa yelled out. “What’s suddenly wrong with her?” She turns to me with a bemused look, but before I could even respond, the realization hits her and it shows on her face.

“What? What’s wrong with her?” I turn back to the empty doorway for a second, still a bit taken aback by their quick departure. I turn back to Hwasa, expecting an answer. What I get instead is her commenting to herself.

“I can’t believe I forgot. I can’t believe _she_ forgot. Her poor Aunt.” She murmurs sadly.

“Why? What’s wrong with her Aunt?”

“It’s the anniversary of her husband’s death. Of course she’s going to be struggling today, especially when she’s trying to stay clean.”

We sat there for a moment reflecting on her situation. This is my first time hearing of it, but it’s isn’t hard to understand how hard it must be for her.

“Well,” Hwasa retracted her arm and moved towards the desk. “I guess we better write that email. The sooner the better. It’ll make us look desperate, like easier bait.”

"Good. Do it fast, I’m hungry.” I lay back on the bed as she gets into the desk chair

“What? You’re not going to help me?

“Just make it simple, I’m too hungry to think. I skipped breakfast this morning and it’s catching up to me.”

“You overslept again, huh? I should just call you every morning to make sure you’re not slacking.” I can hear the smile in her voice and it automatically makes me smile in response.

“Uh, sleeping is not slacking, it gives me the energy to put up with you every day.”

“Oh?”

I hear the chair get pushed back, and before I know it, she’s on me tickling my sides like her life depends on it. I let out a squeak, and try to push her away while laughing hard enough to feel a burn in my abs already.

“Admit that you aren’t just putting up with me and I’ll stop.”

“No!” I say trying to roll away from her, but she has me trapped securely between her legs. I try pushing her away again, but it’s useless.

“Say it, Wheein. Your face is already red.” She says grinning down at me. I don’t want to give into defeat, but my abs are killing me at this point.

“Fine!”

She stops, leans closer stilling smiling and she says, “Fine what, Wheein?”

My hands slide down from her stomach to settle on her thighs, and I stare at her eyes trying to catch my breath. It’s an oddly intimate situation.

“Fine, I don’t just put up with you.” I admitted with a frown.

“Ah, I think you can do better than that.” She raises her hands like a threat.

“Fine, I like you!” I yell out before she can move her devil hands any closer.

She freezes above me and holds eye contact that I can’t look away from. My heart that just started to calm down form the exertion picks up again, and I feel a blush coming on once I’ve realized my mistake.

She lets out a long breath that hits my face, and it’s enough to get me talking again.

“I like you in general, ya know? As a person-friend.” I clear my throat realizing it’s just as weird to explain what I meant. “Aren’t you supposed to be writing an email, Slacker?”

The smile that was wiped away as soon as my admission makes way back to her face, albeit a bit smaller.

“Slacker? I guess when you’re with someone long enough, you start picking up their habits. It’s not something I’m going to complain about, not when they come from you.”

She gets off me, leaving me and my heart to calm ourselves down.

 

Moonbyul is clearly upset, and I want to know what’s wrong but I don’t speak until we make it down the stairs.

“Moonbyul, what’s wrong? Why are we leaving?” I tug her hand to stop her from taking me any further without an explanation.

“I told you the reason my Aunt started drinking, right?”

“Yes, her husband passed.”

“Right, and today’s the anniversary of that day. She’s doing so well, I don’t want her to relapse. We have to be with her. No wonder she was so adamant about me fixing her friend’s car tomorrow. I’m so stupid.” She turns her face down, ashamed.

“Hey, no you’re not. We’ll go to her now and be there for her. That’s what’s important.” I lift her face, and give her quick kiss. “Want me to drive?”

She smiles and leans her forehead on mine. “Even now, you’re trying to drive.” She takes my hand again and puts the keys in my palm. “Take me to her.”

Before I even pull up to her house, I feel Moonbyul’s relief. She must hear or smell that her Aunt hasn’t relapsed. Still, when I park, Moonbyul is quick to get off and help settle everything so she can get inside.

Moonbyul bursts through her front door and calls out for her aunt. “Aunt Seo?! I’m home? Where are you?”

Before her Aunt can respond, she’s pulling me towards the kitchen.

“In the kitchen. I’m setting up for lunch, you going to stick around to eat?” She calls out in response.

We walk into the kitchen before Moonbyul can answer.

“Oh, you’re girlfriends here. You should have told me.” She gives me a warm smile, and walks over to give me a hug, which I willingly accept. “You’re so beautiful and cute.” When she pulls back she gives my cheeks a soft pinch.

“Thank you.” I shyly reply. I’ve seen picture of Moonbyul’s parents, but if I didn’t know any better I would think she was her mom. They’re very similar as well.

“We’ll both be staying for lunch if that’s okay.” Moonbyul looks on with a soft smile. “Probably dinner too.”

“Of course, of course. The more the merrier! Besides, I hardly get to see Solar. I’m in for a treat tonight, aren’t I?” She smiles and moves back to where she was before we came in.

 

I break the comfortable silence that had wrapped around us in the dark, feeling safe and secure with Moonbyul’s arms wrapped around me and mine around her. “Your Aunt is so nice.”

“Yeah, she is. Isn’t she?”

“She’s seemed alright today, don’t you think?”

“She did seem a lot better. I’m so happy for her.” There was a long pause, but I knew she had something else to say. “When I first came to live here, we were both just two broken people coming together trying to make it through every day one at a time. Now, I think we’ve found some sort of peace with our loss. I just hope she can find someone like I have.”

“In due time, I’m positive she will.”

 

 

It frustrated her. Watching them put her through so much she passed out, and even then they didn’t give her time to rest, or to recoup herself. It made her grit her teeth in anger, but she stayed silent. No matter how much she wanted to help, there was no use. She couldn’t do anything. So she gazed on with steely eyes, and took the proper notes.

Sometimes, when Wendy would do something in rebellion, she would be there by her side to calm her down. The last thing she wanted to see was Wendy, her Wendy, being tortured.

Like now, when the scientist’s, who kept asking her to do things, coffee flew off the table and onto the ground. Wendy wouldn’t dare spill it on him, thank God. By now, Wendy knew he had a hot temper. The beautiful scientist was quick to the subject’s side, to put a calming hand on her shoulder, and she gave her a stern look. _Another stunt like that, and you know what’ll happen._

When she saw the defeat in Wendy’s eyes, her heart broke. But all she could do was give her shoulder a comforting squeeze, and move away.

“Oh 22,” a deep laugh left the scientist as he shook his head in apparent amusement. “I had liked the fire you had in the beginning, it meant I could push you and you could handle it, but I must admit it’s beginning to be rather irksome.” He says as he watches some of the lower scientists clean up the mess. “I know you’ve tasted our punishment before, and I’m afraid it seems like it might not be threatening enough for you. Or maybe you’ve just forgotten. In which case, I have no problem reminding you.”

Such a powerful fear went through the quiet scientist that it caused her to do something out of the ordinary. Speak up.

“No!”

The older scientist turned to her with a surprised eyebrow raised. “Miss Bae?”

“What I mean to say, is that after watching her this morning and last night, I don’t think she’d be able to handle it. I would _hate_ to see our efforts go to waste right now.” Her heart was pounding hoping that she sounded convincing enough.

“Is that so?” He was silent for a moment, thoughtful. “If my top student says so, it must be true. Take her to her room then. Today seems like a good day to go over what we have anyway.” He stood up and turned to leave, but once he reached the door, he turned back to address Wendy. “You should count yourself lucky, 22.”

Wendy was glaring at him, but the young scientist stepped in front of her to interrupt her gaze.

“None of that, Wendy.” She whispered as she loosened her ties. “Do you have a death wish?”

“Not now, but maybe soon I will.”

The hands that were working on the ties, hesitated for a moment before pulling on the last strap.

“Don’t speak like that.” She fought the tears that burned her eyes. _I have to do something for her._ “Come on, let’s get you to your room before you do another reckless thing.”

There was nothing that could be learned from her route, just white halls leading to more white halls. Eventually, they got to her room, and there Miss Bae set her on the bed.

“Just get as much rest as you can. I wish I could stay, but I have duties to get to.”

Wendy was looking up at her with wide eyes, she nodded slightly but continued to stare.

“What? What’s that look for?”

“You do care.” Wendy said with so much relief, it broke the scientist’s heart all over again.

“Unfortunately for me, I do.” Miss Bae fought with herself a moment, but eventually gave in to her wants. She bent down and gave the subject a peck on the forehead. “Just get some rest. I’ll bring you something delicious later, I promise.”

“Wait, just one more thing.”

She turned back, and immediately she was enveloped in a strong hug. Wendy had broken down crying, and she could do nothing but hold on and rub soothing circles on her back.

“Oh Wendy, I’ll get you out of here. I will, if it’s the last thing I do.” She tried so hard not to make that promise because, God, she didn’t want to fail her. But now, how could she not? She wanted nothing more than to soothe Wendy’s pain.

 

“Wendy!” I yelled the moment I was pulled out of sleep. It was Wendy, choir Wendy, friendly over the top kind Wendy, my friend Wendy!

I reached to the other side of the bed to tell Moonbyul, but found it empty. Instead, in her place, sat a note.

Went out early to check on my Aunt’s friend’s car! I shouldn’t be gone long, considering I’m a pro and all. At least you can sleep in… Try not to miss me too much if you, by some miracle, wake up early. ;) Anyway, we can get down to business when I get back, but feel free to start without me if it takes longer than planned.

Your Love,

Moonbyul

I smiled a moment, caught up in the sweet note Moonbyul left me. But I pulled myself out of my reverie remembering what I had learned. I had to contact the girls. I made sure to text Moonbyul everything too because I couldn’t hold back the information. It was too big.

 

“No. No, are you kidding me? Another person we know, and it’s Wendy! Wendy is the last person that deserves this!” Wheein yelled in disbelief.

“Wendy has powers? Since when?” Hwasa asked calmly but with just as much surprise on her face.

“Who knows, but we have to find her. How is this not news?! Does nobody know she’s missing?” I threw up my arms in frustration. I mean we searched her name and we found nothing. Nothing that would tell us it was our Wendy.

“Well, isn’t she in college now? Maybe no one expected her to come home, and everyone there expected her to be here.” Wheein answered.

“That would explain it alright.” Hwasa agreed. It seemed to make sense to me too. Still, how unsettling was it that a person could be missing and no one even knew?

“Did you get an email in return, at least?” I asked with hope laced in every word.

“Well we haven’t checked. You called us pretty early after all.” Wheein says as she pulls up her email on her phone.

“How is it in anyway early?” Hwasa says with an amused smile.

Wheein simply ignores her. “Yes! There’s a response.”

I immediately get close so I can read it over her shoulder. There’s only a few sentences, but it’s all it takes to make my stomach drop.

 

_Yes, a meeting? I think I can arrange for that. You don’t have to worry about a thing. I’ll handle it all._

_Your new friend,_

_Minji_

 

Moonbyul’s POV

It didn’t feel right, pulling up to the car. This was not what I was told I would find. I was told that something had gone wrong with her engine, not that all four tires had been sliced open. I hesitantly shut off my bike and got off to get a closer look. I listened out for anything, but the road seemed still. Why she was driving on the old empty highway was a mystery to me, but hey I did it once in a while.

I kicked the flat front tire, and huffed. Maybe I found the wrong car? I went over around to the popped hood, and what I saw made my blood run cold. There, where the engine was supposed to be, sat nothing. It was just a big empty space.

“What the-” I was interrupted by a small puff of air that I wasn’t quick enough to react to.

I raised my hand to my neck where I felt a jolt of pain, and pulled out a small dart with a now empty vial.

“Oh, damn.”

____________________________________________

 

Still kind of slow but what can i say? it's a process

but don't worry things gonna get more wild soon 

hope u like 


	6. Six

I don’t know how much time had passed until I woke up, but I was in a car when I did. I heard only one other heartbeat, so at least there was only the driver and me.

I opened my eyes, only to see nothing but more darkness. I guess I was still too out of it to realize my eyes were covered.

“Is my aunt okay?” She was the one that told me the lie. They had to have gotten to her in some way.

“Relax, she’s fine. We don’t like to do things messily, so you’re lucky.” An even, slightly humored voice replied.

“What did you do?”

“Well as it turns out, you ain’t the only one with powers.”

I already knew that, and honestly he should have known I did if this had anything to do with the emails. “So… what’d you do? Make her lie?”

I was trying to wriggle my hands out of the bindings, but they were way too tight. Instead of wiggling around uselessly, I sat back and tried to pick up any useful information I could. The smell of where we were driving through, the sounds, how the air felt. It just all felt like the same woodsy place, which was a problem.

He laughed. “Sort of. I just gave her a false memory. You see, I simply gave her a friend that needed help, and I knew she’d do the rest. As it seems, it’s not too good to be a famously kind family.” This guy could change peoples’ memories. Sounds scary. Would I know if he did anything to me?

“Yeah well, can’t say we expected this.” I mumble annoyed. It was a nice to have a good reputation until now.

He laughs again. “Right? Well anyway, hate to do this after we bonded and all, but it’ll be easier if you’re out. So… yeah.”

Before I can protest, there’s yet another prick. This time in my leg.

 

I felt groggier the second time I woke up. Maybe it was because of the white light that seemed to be shining on my face. When I was finally able to open my eyes, I realize it wasn’t. It was just a regular light; it only felt that way.

I lightly shook my head to try and get some focus, and when I managed to, I saw a beautiful girl in a white lab coat standing in front of me taking notes or something of that nature. Were all the scientists here pretty, or could this be the girl from Solar’s vision? She certainly fit the bill.

“Good to see that you’re up.” She said softly, not bothering to look up from what she was writing.

“Suppose it’s nice to be up. Is there water?” I managed to croak with my dry throat.

“To the left of you.”

I turned, and sure enough I see just what I needed. I gulp it down hungrily, and felt just a little bit better.

“Now that you’re up, I’m going to have to give you a basic physical. You know, blood pressure and all.”

“Of course, why wouldn’t you?”

She looks up and gives me a searching look. Clearly baffled by my behavior. No one else could have expected anything like this, but I was fortunate enough to have some inside information.

“You’re not like the others,” she observes.

“I wouldn’t imagine I am.”

“You aren’t scared?” She asks setting down her pad, and moving closer to me.

“I am, just not nearly as confused as the others were.”

“Why is that exactly?”

“Depends… Are we being listened to? Or is it just the two of us?”

“We’re nearly almost always monitored… Except for now, in your bunk, the halls have cameras but no audio, and there are a few other exceptions.”

That was good to know, but before I can make any use of it, I hear someone making their way to this room. I can consider myself saved by the bell. I still don’t know if I can trust her.

“You better make yourself look busy, someone’s coming this way.”

Without question, she grabs the sphygmomanometer and wraps it around my upper arm. Just as it starts tightening, a man in a similar lab coat walks in.

“How’s it going? Oh good, she’s up.”

“She just came back to consciousness minutes ago.”

“Well, sorry to rush you, but the leads are getting impatient. We still don’t know what gift she has, and they’re anxious to know. So once you’re done here, don’t take her to her bunk like usual. They want her in the trial room ASAP.”

“But her clothes are in the bunk.” The women says sounding annoyed.

The man shrugs. “Those are the orders.”

She rolls her eyes as she turns back to face me and says, “Fine. This shouldn’t take too long.”

“Good.” The man needing nothing else, leaves without another word.

She and I are quiet for a few moments before she breaks the silence.

“So what is you have, super hearing?”

“That’s only part of it.” I figure there’s nothing to lose at this point, so I tell her the rest. “I have hypersensitivity with all my senses.”

She nods, not looking particularly impressed, just thoughtful really. It’s probably her scientific mind kicking in.

“The first day is going to be the hardest. Don’t resist, you got that? Fighting won’t mean anything, it will just get you hurt.” She finally looks up from checking my heart and makes eye contact, looking very serious.

“Okay, I’ll try.”

“No. Don’t just try. The first day means they’re going to try and scare you into submission, so you’ll be getting hurt anyway, but the last thing you want is anything extra.”

I can tell her warning’s genuine, so all I do is nod. I was really starting to get anxious now.

“Why are you telling me this?” I was beginning to think she could be trusted, but maybe she had other reasons.

“I’m simply not some sadist.”

 

Solar’s POV

I couldn’t think straight. I must have been having a panic attack because my world was spinning and I could barely breathe.

“Solar, if you don’t calm down you’re not going to be any use, and we need you right now.” Wheein said in a soothing voice, trying hard to bring me back.

I know she was right, but God, how quick my biggest fear came to reality. It was impossible to just move past it. I mean, they had Moonbyul.

They had Moonbyul… They had Moonbyul, and I had to help her. I had to get her back. Her and Wendy. So I steadied myself, took deep breaths, and shut my eyes. I had to be on my A game for her. When I finally opened my eyes, I get straight down to business.

“They have Moonbyul, which means what?”

Hwasa answers already knowing where I’m going. “We have an inside man.”

“Exactly. She’s our asset now.” My hands shook as I said it.

 

The email Hwasa and I sent backfired in the end. Moonbyul was gone, taken by crazy ass scientists willing to do who knows what to unravel the science behind the lightning.

She was being instructed down the white hallways, just like I’d seen with Wendy. Her heart rate was increasing with each step she took, and I could do nothing but experience it with her. It was a connection like no other I’ve had before. Maybe it was because our hearts were already intertwined.

“The next door on the right will be it.” Quieter, the voice I recognized to be Miss Bae’s said, “Stay strong and follow instruction. Answer every question without a fight. Please, for your own sake.”

The statement was genuine. That much I could tell, but what seemed off was her concern. She didn’t truly seem to have any. Not the way she had any for Wendy. Maybe it was a good think Moonbyul didn’t get my text. She still didn’t seem to trust her fully.

Moonbyul walked up to the door, and reached a shaky hand out to the handle, but she couldn’t seem to get herself to open it. She could make out the voices behind the door, but the blood rushing through her head made it hard to concentrate on the words. Gently, a soft hand pushed her hand out of the way.

“I’ll lead us in.”

Moonbyul was given a moment to take a deep breath, and steel her nerves.

Before she took a step in, she murmured quietly to herself, “For Solar.” My heart leaped for her, wishing I could do something else but listen in.

“Miss Bae, I knew I could trust you to get our new subject to us quickly. We’re all excited to see what we have in store for us this time.”

Moonbyul looked around, taking in the scene before her. The adjacent wall had a two way mirror, and in front of the wall, parallel to it, was a big chair with all kinds of gadgets hooked up to it. Clearly that was meant for her. Facing the chair was a table with a staff of five scientists, looking excited and ready. There was also random objects strewn around the room, like balls, cards, and other things Moonbyul couldn’t guess they could be for.

“Yes of course, Dr. Park. I wasn’t able to get her a change of clothes, but I took the liberty of cutting off her sleeves, so that we can see her scars. I think you’ll find that she has an interesting pattern.” Miss Bae spoke formally.

“Always thinking, Miss Bae! She wasn’t any trouble, was she? You didn’t have to resort to the stick?”

“She was very compliant, Sir.”

“Good-Good. Why don’t you strap her into the chair?”

“Yes, Sir.”

The beautiful scientist gestures to the chair, and Moonbyul makes her way to it avoiding all the eyes that were on her. She sits down in it, and easily allows Miss Bae set her in the right position to strap her in. Nothing else is said until the meek scientist steps back to stand with the others.

“You see subject 55, there’s something I always do before getting started. It’s just a little demonstration of what you want to avoid. And what you want to avoid is a little something we call the “stick”.”

From the inside of his lab coat he pulls out a medium sized baton looking thing. “Yes, it does look a bit like a police baton, as I’m sure you were thinking, but I can assure you it has much more kick. Well,” he chuckles. “You’ll see right now.”

Moonbyul sees Miss Bae turn away slightly, and the quickening of her heart only causes Moonbyul’s nerves to spike.

He walks over with a small smirk, and it takes a lot for Moonbyul not to show the disgust she feels. Dr. Park, a man with a hard looking face that still comes off as gentle is clearly the oldest in the room, but it has nothing to do with his looks that disgust Moonbyul. She can just feel that he’s a despicable person, and she doesn’t need my sixth sense to figure that.

When he gets close, she sees his eyes travel the length of her scars. “Wow Miss Bae, you were right. Her scar really is something else. Dr. Yoon, after my little demo, get your camera please and take some pictures. I definitely want to document this.”

He again addresses Moonbyul. “55, this is something you’ll never be ready for, but all I can say is – brace yourself.”

He doesn’t wait another moment to press the baton to her arm. It’s just a touch. A silent touch, but the effect is immediate. Her body tenses, and a strained scream leaves her throat. Every nerve seems like it’s on fire, and every vein feels like it’s going to burst. It was a whole new definition of pain that I never want to feel again. I understood the fear Wendy felt when she even considered acting out.

Feeling everything she does is almost enough to break me off of the connection, but instead I’m suddenly stuck between places. I hear Hwasa and Wheein panic, as my own strained scream breaks out of my throat. It’s rough like my throat doesn’t want to open. I was lucky I was on the couch or I would have dropped.

After what seems like hours, he pulls the baton back. “It’s a neurotoxin I invented. Painful, isn’t it?”

Moonbyul hardly hears as she tries to catch her breath.

“I asked you a question, 55.” He says in a stern voice.

“Y-yes. Yes, it’s painful.” She responds desperately.

She looks up at his out of focus humored face, understanding Miss Bae’s warning fully now. This guy was ruthless, and it seems like it was just for the fun of it. He liked the power he held way too much.

“Good. You answer like that, and there should be no problems, 55. We all look forward to working with you.”

He puts the baton back in his lab coat, and claps his hands together. “Now, let’s take a look at your delightful scar!”

He comes up to her again and glides his hands up her smooth skin. The amount of hate I feel for him then makes me wonder if Moonbyul can feel it, even though the connection is only one way.

“I’ve never seen a scar purple and dark like this before… Tell me, how were you struck?” He says as he steps back for Dr. Yoon to take the pictures.

“I was in a car when it happened. I had my hand out the window and I was touching the metal frame when the lightning struck the roof.”

“So it all flowed up your arm… That’s not something we’ve gotten here before. Interesting.”

He waits for Dr. Yoon to finish with his pictures and heads back to the table before he says anything else.

“And now for the million dollar question, what is the gift that the lightning has granted you?”

Every word since the baton has come out defeated, but slowly I can feel the confidence build back up in Moonbyul. I know she’s trying to stay positive. She’ll answer every question he throws at her and she’ll do every trial, and more importantly she’s going to find a way out of here. We’re going to find a way out of here.

“I have hyper-senses.”

“Please, elaborate. I will expect detailed answers after every question.”

“Yes, sir.” Moonbyul responded, just managing to keep the agitation out of her voice. “I can see every pore on everyone’s faces in this room. I can hear every heartbeat and the sound of your blood as it runs through your veins. I can smell every attempt of every person to mask their smell, as well as their natural smell. My touch can fell every micro detail on every surface. That is what I mean by hyper-senses.”

Dr. Park grinned and nodded his head in approval.

“That’s it for now. You did well, 55.” She watches in shock as the crew begins to get their notes together. Surely this was some trick. “You look surprised that we’re already done here.” She was and I was too. “From here, my team and I will develop methods on how we will learn from your gifts. We would have started today, but we like to take a more prepared approach. Besides, it’s lunchtime, and after that we have other subjects to look into. Miss Bae, you can now take 55 to her room.”

We both felt relief that it was done, but if she stays here longer, this would have only been just the beginning.

“Will do.” Miss Bae nodded, and made her way over to untie Moonbyul from the chair. Moonbyul was relieved to have Miss Bae near her again. Anything was better than that man. Her touch was gentle, and when Moonbyul stood up wobbly, the beautiful scientist made sure to be there as support.

The neurotoxin had lasting effects, and it made walking out of that room rather difficult. Even if all Moonbyul wanted to do was be gone, she had to take her time. Eventually, Moonbyul and Miss Bae were alone again in the white halls.

“That was only the hardest day because of the baton, but every day will be hard.”

“Sounds great.” Moonbyul mumbled.

“I know. I can only offer my condolences.”

No, I thought. Perhaps you’ll be able to offer a lot more.

 

“Change your clothes, and put your old clothes here. I’ll be back with food shortly, but for now just rest. You’ll need to get all the rest you can while you’re here.”

Moonbyul nodded and sat on the hard bunk, trying to ease the pain she felt everywhere. It did little to help, but it was something. Miss Bae left, and Moonbyul was finally alone in the small box-like room, but she could hear everything outside of it.

For the most part it was still, but she heard a couple of hearts and breathing to match along with them, but she was more interested in Miss Bae. She followed Miss Bae’s footsteps down the hall as she was clearly making her way to one heart beat in particular. She listened as the heart that belonged to the beautiful scientist sped up in excitement as she got closer.

She finally stopped at a door and took a deep breath. Moonbyul heard the key card unlock the door, and finally Miss Bae walked in.

The heartbeat of the other subject, which had been steady before suddenly matched in beat with the scientist’s.

“You’re back.” An unexpectedly happy voice said. Moonbyul’s eyes widened. That voice must have sounded familiar to her. I couldn’t believe it got past me before.

“Is that…” Moonbyul trailed off.

“I am, and I brought something delicious just as I promised.” She could hear the faint smile in her voice. “A simple sandwich, but I also brought you something sweet for once. A chocolate chip cookie.”

The girl giggled softly. “You know, you tell me it’s only been 2 weeks since I’ve been here, but it feels like it’s been months, and it feels like it’s been forever since I’ve had a dessert. You know, outside of here, I baked quite a bit.”

“Did you now? Were you any good?” She heard the scientist move over and sit next to the girl on the bed.

“People tell me I was pretty good. What dessert do you like?” Moonbyul smiled a bit when she knew their hands brushed because she could hear the complement response of a skipped beat.

“I like carrot cake best, I suppose. Though I’m sure I’d like anything you made me.”

“Well, lucky for you, I make a pretty mean carrot cake.”

“You’ll have to make if for me sometime.”

“If I ever get-”

“You will get out of here. I promised you, didn’t I?”

We heard the hitch in Wendy’s breath, and I could imagine the scientist brushing the hair from Wendy’s face.

“I don’t want you to get hurt at my expense, Irene.”

“Shh, Wendy. You don’t have to worry about me. Eat the cookie, and get some energy back.”

“You don’t have to leave already, do you?” Wendy asked sounding disappointed.

“No, I have some time. Everyone else is eating right now too.”  
“Oh, you’re not skipping a meal are you?” Wendy asked suddenly sounding worried. I could just imagine her wide eye expression.

Irene laughed softly sounding rather pleasant.  
“Worry about yourself, my Wendy.”

Wendy coughed, almost choking on her food.

“Woah, careful there.”

“Yeah, sorry.”

They were quiet a moment as Wendy slowly chewed.

“Wendy, the first day you were brought in, I thank God I wasn’t there, but I missed something.”

“What? What’d you miss?”

“The story of when lightning struck you.”

“Oh...” Wendy breathed, sounding almost disappointed. “What makes you think of it now?”

Irene was quiet unwilling to answer. Of course it was unpleasant news to hear that another subject was brought in.

Wendy was able to guess anyway. “They’ve brought someone else in haven’t they?”

“Yes.”

“How many does that make it now?”

Irene shifted uncomfortably, and ultimately decided not to answer.

“Tell me your story, Wendy.” It sounded almost like a plea, to move on from what she didn’t want to answer.

Wendy sighed, easily giving in. “You have an undeniable pout.” She laughed sounding shy at the admission. “Fine, I’ll humor you. After all, you did bring me a cookie.”

“Thank you.” Irene said sounding thankful.

Wendy chuckled nervously and cleared her throat. “Anyway, let’s see… I was a senior in high school when it happened… So like a couple of months ago really… It was nearing the end of the school year, actually… I only heard about it afterwards, but a lot was happening the day I got struck. You heard about that girl that went missing around here, Krystal Jung?”

“Yes, it was big.”

“Right, it was massive. Well the day she was found, it was raining hard, and I happened to get caught up in it.”

“And how did you manage that?”

“I was helping Mrs. Lee across the street. She’s not with us anymore, she was very old at the time, and the rain made her bones hurt, ya know? So I cooked her a meal, and it was when I was running back to my house after giving it to her that it happened. It came out of nowhere, as lightning does, and I was struck right on the head.”

Irene laughs fully with her whole body.  
“What? Why is that so funny?” Wendy asks sounding offended.

“That is the most Wendy way it could have happened.” She laughs.

“It really is.” Moonbyul chuckles to herself. “It’s definitely our Wendy alright.”

“You are too adorable.” Irene murmurs as she’s coming down from her laughter. Then she sighs clearly upset. “Now I have to go.”

“But you’ll be back to say goodnight, right?” Sounding almost frantic.

“Of course. I always do.” She soothes.

Irene gets up and takes one step before Wendy stops her. “Don’t you dare try to leave here without a hug.”

There’s no moment of hesitation from Irene when she turns back around. I can tell she pulls Wendy into a hard hug because Wendy lets out a quiet gasp.

“You’re the only thing I look forward to in here.” Wendy murmurs, her mouth clearly obstructed by something. Probably Irene’s shoulder or neck.

“I may not be stuck in here, but you’re the only thing I look forward to as well. I’ll see you tonight. I’d say I hope they don’t push you too hard today, but I know they will.”

“I wish you were at least there with me. It makes it easier when I can find solitude in your presence.”

“I know. Me too. Stay strong just a little longer. Alright, I better go for real now.”

“Okay.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.” Wendy giggled. “You have to open the door in order to leave.”

‘Right, I was getting to it.” Irene says with a smile in her voice.

Finally the door clicked and after a moment of recollection, Irene’s footsteps go further down the halls.

Moonbyul sighed, and laid back on the hard bed. “Solar, you must be with me aren’t you?”

It was the first time she addressed me, and I wanted to scream, “Yes! Of course! I always am.”

“It was pretty rude of us to eavesdrop like that, huh?” She laughed. “Well, at least it was for a good cause. I’m going to need you to stand bye, babe. I’m going to get you in contact with Irene. It seems like she’s the key.”

 


	7. Seven

I’ve never seen Solar like this before. Spazzing on the couch like she was having a seizure. If I’m honest, I was scared, and then I was terrified when she started screaming. God, what could have been going on in Moonbyul’s end? We were just lucky no one else was around to hear her or they would have thought she was being murdered. What if Moonbyul was being murdered?

No. She couldn’t have been. She was too big of an asset, right? Right.

God, I hope I was right.

Relief flooded my body the moment she broke out of her connection, breathing hard and looking dazed.

“Solar, my god, what happened? Are you okay?” I went quickly to her side and picked her head up into my lap and brushed the hair out of her face.

“I’m okay. I just needed a break. Is there any water?”

“Here you go.” Hwasa was quick to give her the water bottle she instructed us to have for this exact moment.

Hwasa and I met eyes while she was drinking, thinking the same thing _thank god that was over_. Then we waited in anticipation for her to tell us what the fuck had happened.

I could tell Hwasa was getting impatient when she started tapping her foot. I knew she was holding back questions, but she was trying to be respectful of Solar’s conditions.

“Alright.” She said after taking a couple of deep breaths. “That place is crazy… They really tortured her.” She said in a choked up voice.

She was on the bridge of crying, so I put my hand to her sweaty head again and tried to soothe her. I could hardly process what she said. Torture? Moonbyul was going through torture and Solar too secondhand? That meant Wendy had probably gone through the same thing too… Holy shit.

“When we get in there, I’m going to kill them.” Hwasa said in a deadly tone.

“You’ll have to beat me to them then.” Solar replied with just as much venom in her voice, but then she relaxed again and heaved a sigh. “It shouldn’t happen again if she obeys them, but… Anyway, what’s important is that, other than Byul, we have someone on the inside that can walk around freely, who knows the facility well. Byul is going to get her to meet up with us. Then we’ll get them out.”

“Really? Is it the girl that’s been nice to Wendy?” Hwasa asks perking up at the news.

“That’s the one.”

“And we know we can trust her?”

“Yeah. At the very least, I know she’ll be willing to do anything to get Wendy out.”

“Why would some scientist in there risk it all for Wendy?” I ask truly confused. If these people are willing to torture their subjects, I’m sure they wouldn’t be afraid to punish traitors too.

“She’ll be in it for Wendy. Trust me. “

Of course I did but, why would she be all in it for Wendy? Well, it was Wendy and I could understand to an extent. Still, it was a pretty big thing to do.

“I think I’m going to take a nap, if that’s okay.”

I noticed her eyelids drooping now as she spoke. Poor girl.

“Of course, rest.” I said while getting up so she could get more comfortable. “We’ll be around if you need us.” I really just wanted to know more, but what could I do?

“Yeah, anything too. We got you.” Hwasa added getting up to so we could talk somewhere without bothering her.

We had just walked out of the office when Hwasa’s whole demeanor changed. It was so abrupt and unexpected of her, it took me a second to react.

She clapped a hand over her mouth and had tears in her eyes. I’d never seen her like this before.

“Oh, Hwasa.” I reached out to her and engulfed her into a hug.

“My best friend…” She couldn’t even finish her sentence, but I knew just where she was headed.

“It won’t be long before she’s back here with us. She’ll be okay, Hwasa. We have to stay strong for her.” When I felt her shake against me, I had a hard time myself keeping it together myself.

 

I refuse to rest. Not when Moonbyul was on the line. So I was diving back in the moment I was able to. Since Moonbyul was stuck in her room, I decided to jump into Irene, the beautiful scientist again.

She was just leaving a room that would remain a mystery to me because I was just moments too late to see what was inside. Her mood seemed to have considerably dampened since leaving Wendy’s room. The walls passed by in blurs as she walked down a path that was all too familiar to her. She barely paid attention to what was around her, seemingly stuck in her own mind. A part I couldn’t seem to reach. Whatever was on her mind just didn’t seem to reverberate much significance to her.

But just as she reached a big heavy looking door she stopped as she tried to contain the swarm of angry bees that erupted in her stomach, and then I could hear a stray thought. _You do this every day, there’s no need to feel so sick._ So she takes a deep breath and walks in.

“Ah, Irene there you are.” The horrible, malicious scientist greets with a wide smile. “I was beginning to think you’d never show. Sorry, you took so long, I ate lunch without you.”

“Don’t worry about it. I wasn’t hungry anyway.” She said taking a seat in the chair that was in front of the torturers desk.

The man sighs clearly disappointed in the response. “You really need to get more meat on your bones, girl. You’ll surely be able to blow away with the wind soon.”

“Dad, really I’m fine. I ate a big breakfast that’s all. Honest, I’m good. I’m glad you had a good lunch though.” She said picking up a file from her father’s desk and begins leafing through it not really seeing anything.

If I could feel my own body right now, I would have felt dread shoot through my veins. The man that had tortured Moonbyul with a grin was Irene’s father. The girl we were supposed to trust to help us out.

“Who said I had a good lunch? How could I truly without you here?”

“Ah Dad, you depend on me too much for your own happiness.” Irene rolled her eyes while folding the file and putting it back on the desk.

“How could I not? You know you’re the only person I care about in this world after losing your mother.”

Remorse settled in Irene’s stomach after hearing her father’s shameless guilt trip.

“I know. I was just checking up on the subject’s. They are steadily getting weaker at an alarming rate. If we’re going to continue pushing them, I have to make sure they’re getting the means to keep up with us.”

“I hope that’s not concern for them that I’m hearing.” Anger lining his voice.

“No. No, I’m not concerned for them in the least.” She said sounding totally convincing. It didn’t even really seem like a lie. In fact, she seemed a bit disgusted at the fact he would think otherwise. “I just want to make sure we can finish what we’ve started. We kind of have to anyway. We aren’t exactly working just for ourselves, are we? We have to produce meaningful results soon.”

Her father relaxed and leaned back into his chair. “You’re right. As you usually are.” He smiled. “You have a good head on your shoulders, kid. Alright!” He threw up his hands. “I’ll cool down for the sake of science and obligation.”

“Good to hear.”

“You ready to lead a trial yet?”

Irene groaned loudly. “You asked me the same thing yesterday. Can’t I just let you know when I’m ready?”

“Do you understand that this is an amazing opportunity to learn from? And you just proved right now how responsible you are! If you want, today rather than working with Doctor Choi, you can co-lead with me on subject 22. How does that sound?” He paused for a second as if to wait for an answer. “Actually, this time you don’t have a choice. You are co-leading Subject 22’s trial today.

Irene's heart plummeted into her stomach. This wasn’t something she ever wanted to hear. Maybe if it was someone else, but no this was Wendy. And yet, if she were the one leading, she could be softer on her. The thing was she knew her father would notice, and there was no way she could explain why she wasn’t treating Wendy the way he usually did. _Oh god, what if I accidently called her by her name?_ _This wouldn’t have been a problem if I had just kept my feeling locked up._ Irene grimaced upset at herself.

“Fine. I think I can manage that.” Irene finally said after a long pause.

Her dad was absolutely beaming. “That’s my girl! Great, so let me fill you in on what I want to accomplish today.”

Irene was feeling nothing but regret. _Shit_. _How am I going to manage this? Could I hurt Wendy? No, not if I looked into her eyes. I wouldn’t be able to handle the hurt and disappoint from her. Then again, there’s also my father’s disappointment to deal with if I don’t manage to._

If she was in a similar position with Moonbyul, would she be able to hurt her? Is Wendy the only exception to her mercy?

Suddenly my vision of Irene started darkening, and I could no longer hear what her father was saying. Instead, what I heard was Moonbyul talking softly to an empty room.

It took a bit before I was fully back in Moonbyul’s mind. Was it because I was thinking of her that I hopped from Irene’s mind to hers?

“Solarrr,” She dragged out my name sounding bored. “I literally have nothing to do in here but talk to myself in hopes that you’ll be listening.” She turned over, for I’m sure wasn’t the first time.

“Last time, when you saved my life… By the way, I don’t know when you’re tuning in, but I want you to know that this isn’t the first time I’ve said this. Anyway, last time you saved my life, you told me you did something. You said that the last time you infiltrated the Principal’s mind, you were able to do more than just experience things with him. You acted as a greater force, and you had a greater presence. Do something like that now. Show me you’re here. Show me you’re listening.”

I knew what she meant, but that had happened in the heat of the moment. It was never something I wanted to replicate. I know she doesn’t mean to do it the same way I did it to Principal Lee, where I over circuited his brain and made him pass out. Still… Could I somehow communicate to her that I was there? It was something I was going to have to try for her sake. God, would training ever be over? At least my training was ethical…

When I was in someone else’s head, it was almost like being in my own expect that I didn’t always hear their thoughts, and my thoughts were also separate from theirs. I always felt their intentions and emotions, so it influenced the way I thought in a way that usually made mine align with theirs which helped me understand them. If I did hear their actual thoughts though, it came in pieces. Maybe I could change that so I could project my own thoughts into their mind. But I was getting ahead of myself, I just had to let Moonbyul know I was there.

I almost felt foolish concentrating so hard when absolutely nothing came of it. That was just the first try though. I couldn’t let myself give up that easily. So I pushed forward. If I could get any sort of progress, I could build from there.

Moonbyul suddenly sat up fast and put her hand to her head.

“Solar?”

Yes! That was me! I tried again so she would know for sure.

“Oh my god, it feels so weird. Like a ghost touch.” She laughed feeling proud. “Good job, love. I knew you could do it.”

It was a little unpleasant, at least for the first few times. It was probably because of the shock of it. It was weird to feel such an invasion. I would describe it as someone brushing a feather against your brain. It was like a subtle tingle.

“Do you think you can do that once for yes and twice for no?”

I responded yes. Wow. I’m so amazing, really.

“Okay… let’s test no. Do you like the taste of beer?”

I could never trust anyone who did, honestly. I sent two tingles her way for “no”.

Moonbyul laughed and murmured, “That’s amazing, Solar. You can do some amazing things.”

She laid back down on the bed. “So, did you hear who Irene’s father was?”

 _Yes_.

“She wasn’t lying about not caring about the subjects.”

I couldn’t respond with anything but yes.

“Did you hear it from my ears?”

 _No_.

“So you felt it?”

 _Yes_.

“She was sincere with Wendy earlier. Were you there for the cookie and sandwich?”

_Yes._

“She feels something for Wendy, and she says she wants to get her out. Be that the case or not, she might not be willing to act on it. She said yes to co-leading the next trial on Wendy, so we’ll probably be able to learn who she’ll favor: her father and their apparent disgust with us or Wendy. Do you agree?”

 _Yes_. I had felt totally secure with Irene before, but she wasn’t as innocent as she had seemed. She didn’t seem like she was only in it because she had no choice. Instead, it seemed like she chose to be a part of this terrible facility.

“Well, we can’t do anything but wait and watch the show anyway. Will you switch to Irene when the trial begins?”

 _Yes_. I had to find out if we could trust her or not. Putting our faith in the wrong person could be disastrous. I didn’t want to find out what they would do to Moonbyul if they found out she was planning an escape.

“Good. Learn as much as you can. Then we can decide on Irene. If she’s hopeless, I have no clue where we can go from there.” She said sounding like she was losing hope.

I didn’t either, but I didn’t want her thinking that way. I was going to find out some way to get her out no matter which way things go. I just wish I could tell her that.

“Was that you? I feel calmer…”

Was it me? I think it was…

 _Yes_.

She smiled and rolled over so she was now laying on her stomach. “Message loud and clear: Keep it positive. I’ll try.”

Outside of our session of 20 questions, Moonbyul had been keeping an ear on Irene. She had just been quietly working on something by herself, but she was walking down the halls again. I’m sure she was going to get Wendy.

“Go ahead and jump into Irene. It seems like we’ll be getting our answer soon. Is this a goodbye?”

Sadly, _yes_.

“Well then bye, I love you.”

 _Yes_.

“I know you know that I love you, but do you love me?”

I don’t know why she felt like this was a good time to be teasing, but she was because she knew I couldn’t answer properly.

 _No_.

Moonbyul snickered and turned back over. “Goodbye, Solar. Be back soon.”

Moonbyul’s vision of the grey ceiling started to fade away and a new image appeared. It was weird. It felt less like I was leaving and more like Moonbyul was letting go.

I jumped back into Irene just as she was opening the door to Wendy’s room.

Wendy raised her helmeted head off her pillow, and looked surprised at the site of Irene. “You’re back sooner than expected.”

“Yes, I am.” Irene answered curtly.

Wendy visibly stiffened at her tone.

The site made Irene soften immediately. “I’m sorry. I’m just nervous, that’s all. I didn’t mean to get snippy with you.

“That’s okay.” Wendy said already looking more at ease. She even started to get up so she could come over to Irene. “What is it that you’re nervous about?”

Irene didn’t move as Wendy took the few steps to close the wide gap between them. Not completely, but now they weren’t a room apart and Irene was already feeling the effects of her proximity. She wanted to reach out and touch her, but she quelled the urge down.

“It turns out that I’ll be going with you to your trial after all.”

“Why do you make that sound like a bad thing? I would prefer you to be there.”

Irene was quiet for a moment, and it made Wendy worried. Irene could see that Wendy was picking up unsettling vibes from Irene based on her unwillingness to answer. But she would have to eventually. ”This time I won’t be a mostly silent bystander.”

Wendy took a small step back. Irene wanted to reach out and pull her back to her, but she didn’t.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I will take some of the roles that Dr. Park usually has.”

“Which roles exactly? The threatening or the incessant pushing?” Wendy looked betrayed, but mostly angry.

Irene wanted to stop the anger directed at her immediately, but she remained poised.

“Wendy, I don’t think you understand what position I’m in. If I hurt you, it’s because-“

“Don’t! Don’t hurt me.” Wendy interrupted. “If you hurt me, I won’t ever be able to look at you the same. I just won’t.”

Irene swallowed hard, feeling torn. I was feeling torn too, but for different reasons. Irene isn’t acting like someone who’s going to put her all into protecting the girl I thought she’d give everything up for. “If we take any longer, they’ll send someone looking for us. Come on.” That was a lie. She was trying to keep her resolve together.

The walk to the lab was quiet. It was also a moment of quiet distress for Irene. She watched Wendy walk in front of her with balled fists knowing she was the cause of it.

 _What would mom really want?_ She questioned herself right before walking into the lab.

“Miss Bae, you know what to do.” Her father said first thing after they walked in.

The room was quiet as Irene strapped Wendy into the chair. She didn’t dare look at Wendy’s face as she did it. It was tense between them now that Irene’s role had changed.

Irene was the first to speak when she was done. “Today, we’re moving back to strength and your ability to manage several heavy objects at one time. Without multiple variables, so far, you are able to lift 4 tons. Which is stunning in itself, but we want to expand that so you are able to manage multiple variables amounting up to at least 4 tons. The last couple of sessions have led to improvements, but we have not met our desired results. We expect to see 8 1000 pound weights lifted off the ground. That’s five more than your best trial.”

“As you know, this trial is conducted by us behind that glass” Irene pointed to her right “for our safety. If any of us suspects any sketchy business, Dr. Park’s neurotoxin will put an end to it immediately.”

Wendy rolled her eyes, but remained silent. It’s not likely this was the first time she’s heard this speech.

“Do you understand this?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Good then, everyone can move to the observation room.”

Irene stood furthest from the door ushering everyone out before her. Her dad, the last person in the room after Irene, gave her a proud wink as he crossed the door’s threshold. It caused a surge of guilt to hit Irene, but it didn’t stop her from closing the door after him and locking it.

”What are you doing?” Wendy knew that this wasn’t protocol. She was looking shocked but not scared. That seemed to encourage Irene.

“I’m doing things my way.”

Wendy’s face immediately fell into disappoint and faint disgust lined her features. Irene took a step towards Wendy, and immediately her guards went up.

“Don’t come near me.” Irene stopped walking immediately. “So what? Was it your job to get the trust of the subjects so you could easily manipulate them? It makes sense now that I think about it.” She chuckles looking like she was just slapped.

 _Yes, but it backfired with you. You could never realize how unfortunate that was for me_. Irene thought, but didn’t say aloud.

“Wendy, you’re getting riled up for no reason. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m going to help you.”

“Help me what? Give them everything they want.”

“No. I’m giving you everything you need. Do you understand how powerful you are? Soon there’s going to be nothing they can do to stop you. I just want to help you get to that point.” Irene was being nothing but honest.

“Can’t they hear you from there?” Wendy indicated the window with her eyes.

“No, I was busy before I got you.” Irene smiled a bit mischievously. “And they can’t hurt you from there either. It’s just you and me in here, Wendy.” Well, not totally… “I’m going to raise the weights now, okay?”

Wendy said nothing but she nodded. She looked a bit more relaxed now, but she looked at Irene with an untrusting gaze. “Why are you even here? Why would you be working at a facility like this?”

Irene stopped tapping at the tablet she was holding, but she didn’t look up. I knew she didn’t want to answer this question. How would Wendy react when she heard that her torturer was Irene’s father? Any trust that Wendy still had in reserves would surely vanish. Irene couldn’t afford that. Not right now.

“Family obligation. There really wasn’t a way out.” From the floor, ten big metal blocks rose out of hidden openings that just appeared. “Are you ready to begin?”

Wendy opened her mouth looking like nothing but snide was about to come out. Irene interrupted her before she could speak.

“No, you don’t really have a choice. I still have a role to play.”

Then she sighed and softened up once again. “Wendy, I may not be all that I appeared to you before, but let me make one thing clear: I’ve made my decision. I am going to get you out of here. Will you let me help you now?”

Wendy stared at her with unmoving eyes, but it only took a couple of moments before she caved. She nodded.

“I’ll listen to you as long as it seems reasonable.”

“Great. I’m nothing but reasonable.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.” There was a faint smile on her features, but it disappeared as soon as it came. “So, lift as many of these heavy things as I can?”

“Yes.”

“But I tried last week, and I couldn’t get past three.”

“Wendy, you should know that your brain is a muscle, and from what we’ve gathered so far it seems that your ability comes from your mind. So, you should be able to get stronger, correct?”

“…Yeah, I guess.”

“Well then, try for four this time.”

Wendy closed her eyes for a moment to prepare herself for the challenge. She raised two from the ground, seemingly effortlessly. She struggled at the 3000 lbs, but she managed that too.

“Great, Wendy. You’re doing great. Let’s get one more up.”

Irene’s focus was hardly on the objects around her. She was watching Wendy instead. She studied the way Wendy’s breath started to come out heavier as she worked on her task, and she watched the way Wendy’s eyebrows furrowed in concentration. She was astonished by her. She only looked away once she remembered she was being examined as well.

She swallowed hard, and looked at the weights around her. _What’s her full potential? Will she truly be unstoppable?_

There was a thunderous clang, and it made Irene almost jump right out of her skin.

“I can’t do it. I can’t get past three.” Wendy heaved. Tired from the work.

 _I know she’s stronger than this_.

Irene looked at the glass, and made a decision. She tapped on the tablet again, and suddenly the window the other scientists were watching from was covered by a barrier. _Screw it. I’m came this far already._

“You could have done that this whole time?” Irene smiled even though Wendy was clearly still upset with her. She was at least relieved that Wendy gave no objection when she walked over to her.

“Yes, I know. It was long overdue, and so is this.”

Irene began undoing the binds that held Wendy fast to the chair. When she was done with that, she also removed the helmet that she almost always had on.

“Maybe you need to be more comfortable. Come on, stand up.” Irene grabbed Wendy’s hands and pulled her from the chair. She didn’t let her hands go and neither did she step back when she ended up only inches apart from her. Wendy had nowhere else to move, so she couldn’t move away even if she wanted to. I’m not sure wanted to anyway. She didn’t seem willing to let go just as much as Irene.

“Wendy, do you miss your family?” Irene murmured.

“Of course, I do.” Wendy murmured back, staring right into Irene’s eyes. She seemed transfixed, all her negative feelings seemed to have dissipated for the moment.

“Then I’m going to need you to lift these weights, Wendy. Think of these as the obstacles keeping you from them.”

“What if I can’t?”

“Believe in yourself the way I do.” Irene finally let go of one of Wendy’s hands, so she could stroke the side of her head. She left it lingering on her cheek. “You can do it. You just don’t know your strength yet.” It was only after that statement that she stepped back. “Go on. Try it again. Maybe you’ll do better with more space to move.”

Wendy moved towards the center of the room, and spun around studying each of the metal blocks surrounding her. She widened her stance slightly, and took a deep breath again. Three blocks rose without a problem like before, but unlike before there was a fourth block not staying in a static position.

“You got this, Wendy.”

She did have it. The fourth block rose breaking her previous record, but she did more than just merely beat it. All ten blocks were up, and Wendy didn’t look like she was breaking a sweat.

“Wendy...” Irene said breathless. She then felt a tug at her coat. It gave her quite a fright, but she realized it was Wendy. _She’s holding all those blocks up, and she’s still able to concentrate enough attention towards me? She truly is incredibly powerful._ There was a brief flash of fear that Irene felt. She shouldn’t have felt that if she trusted her, right?

“Get closer to me, and away from the blocks. Who knows how long this fluke will last.”

Irene did as told, still astonished by what she was seeing. “This isn’t a fluke, Wendy. You’re just amazing.” All of her fear was totally gone as she now stood by Wendy. “Try moving them so every other block goes up, and the others go down.”

Irene laughed with delight when Wendy did just as she was instructed. Irene reached for Wendy’s arm and gave it a squeeze.

Wendy chuckled at her reaction. “You seem more excited than I am.”

“Well, you’re one step closer now, aren’t you? Try rotating them around the room.” She did it, again with ease.

“Will you stay here if I get out?”

“When you get out.” Irene corrected, glad that there was something to look at other than Wendy.

“Don’t avoid the question.” Wendy tugged Irene around to face her. This time with her own hands. “I’ve noticed that no one around here refers to you as doctor, so you must still be a student. Am I right?”

It wasn’t too hard to deduct, but Irene was still surprised that Wendy had noticed.

“Yes.”

“Then leave and come finish your schooling with me. Do something better than working here.”

Irene’s first reaction was a resounding no, but as she pondered the thought of leaving, the idea started sounding a lot better. In fact, nothing had sounded this enticing in a long time.

“I can’t. I told you that I had family obligations.”

“Are you happy here?”

Irene looked away from Wendy to look around at the blocks that had started spinning faster. When she turned back to Wendy she was worried. _Her frustration is effecting her performance_.

“My happiness isn’t really a priority right now,” She lifted her hand to Wendy’s face again and brushed her thumb across her cheek, attempting to calm her down. “-but yours is so don’t try to fight me on this.”

Wendy’s facial features softened, but now there was tint of sadness to it. “Come with me. We can be happy together. If you make me leave here without you, I’m not sure I can promise that I’ll be happy at all.” Wendy pressed her hand to Irene’s and laced their fingers together.

_Wow. I shouldn’t have let my feelings get so deep. She’s actually going to make me cry... I haven’t done that since mom._

“Don’t say things like that, Wendy. We haven’t really known each other that long anyway. You can’t possibly feel that way.” She knew that was a lie because _she_ felt that way. Once Wendy left, she’d probably be working on autopilot. But that would have to suffice until everything was done.

There’s a brief look of panic that passes Wendy’s features. “Do you not feel it too?” She murmured, quieter than before. She was holding on to Irene’s hand even tighter, as if she was trying to prepare herself for rejection.

Irene’s internal battle was leaning towards Wendy, but before she could resolve her conflict there was giant clang. Irene and Wendy both turned towards the noisy with soft gasps of surprise leaving both of their mouths. Irene had expected to see a block that had fallen. Instead, she saw the door being opened without her consent.

She jumped back to put space between herself and Wendy, hoping no one saw how intimate they were being.

“Get back in the chair. Quick! Keep the blocks up and put your helmet back on,” Irene hissed. Wendy did as she was told.

Irene tried to push every feeling away so she could face her dad with her usual monotonous manner. He had stormed in looking like he was about to commit a murder.

“I give you this amazing opportunity, and this is how you repay me?!” He yelled. There was vein popping out from his neck, and Irene knew for sure that he was pissed. She didn’t expect to see forgiveness soon. _Please don’t let this effect my duties._

“I apologize. I just felt that the conditions subject 22 was working in was having an effect on her performance. Hindering her ability so she wasn’t able to perform as she ideally could. As you can see,” Irene gestured to the floating weights above them. “-I was right.”

Her father looked up and, for a moment, looked impressed. But when he looked back at Irene, he was no less mad than before.

“Everyone stand back! Away from the weights!” He held his hand out to Irene, “The tablet, please.”

Irene handed it over knowing she would regret it, but she really didn’t have any other option. I know she was trying to keep her appearance up. That’s why the next thing that happened was so hard.

He tapped at the tablet, and just like that, the blocks all dropped with the loudest bang yet. It was enough to cover Wendy’s pain filled screams for a moment. She knew her father would be watching her for a reaction, but she wouldn’t give anything away. Not now. Wendy wouldn’t have a chance to get out if she did.

So watched Wendy scream in anguish with a blank face. She never smiled at the site the way her father did, so at least she didn’t have to pretend she enjoyed it. I was amazed at the way she played it off. It was the hardest thing she’s ever had to do. _Why is he letting it go on for so long? I’m the one at fault for god’s sake!_

Wendy was red now, her veins were starting to pop out further than her fathers were a moment ago. She could tell Wendy was trying to raise her arms in attempt to take off the helmet, the source of the neurotoxin, but she couldn’t lift them very far.

 _Falling in love is too painful. God, please let this stop_. I honestly wasn’t sure if she was talking about the torture, or her love.

Finally, Wendy’s screams stopped, but it was only after she had passed out.

“Miss Bae, please tie her up properly.” Her father said it calmly, but she could hear the fury beneath the faux tone.

“As you say, Sir.” She walked over to her as if it was any other day, hearing the same request. She made sure not to let any touch linger, but god she wished she could take her in her arms and run away right now. _I’ll go with you, and I swear I’ll keep you safe._ Maybe it was a funny thought considering the power Wendy had, but at that moment, I believed she would.

She stepped back and went back to stand by her father.

“You managed to prompt something we thought would take weeks.” He said evenly. Irene waited for his follow up statement without responding. “Because of that, there won’t be any punishment, as long as you give us a very detailed report on everything that happened in here.” Irene nodded in agreement to the condition. “Do not think that something like this could happen again without dire consequences.”

“There won’t be a next time. I promise, sir.”

“Good.” Her father turned away to address another scientist. “Bring Sungjae in.”

Irene was thrown off by that. Why would they need Sungjae? They used him to get their subjects and nothing else, so why was he being called in?

 

_________________________________________________________-

What the **** is Sungjae for? 

What exactly is Irene's obligation?

Just how far do Solar's skillz go?

WHo KNoWs? 

Only me sorta for now (unless you're guessing right i don know)

tune in next time for more answers!

Also if you're like "There's not enough WHeesa!" I feel you. I'll try to fix that, but for now the story isn't pulling me towards them :/

If there's not enough of something else or there's something else you'd like to see feel free to suggest or yell at me about it!

hope you liked

and

have a pleasant week


	8. eight

**By the time Sungjae had come in Wendy had woken up. Irene wished she had just stayed down. At least there was some peace in that. Especially since the moment she saw Sungjae, she got a bad feeling. Irene knew that something was terribly wrong, and all she needed was to see Sungjae’s smirk to confirm that hunch. This wasn’t going to be good, and there wasn’t going to be anything Irene could do to stop it. Not this time. Not while she was already in trouble for the stunt she pulled.**

**“Sungjae, I think you know what to do.”**

**“Yep. It’ll only take a moment.”**

**“What is he going to do to me?” Wendy asked with evident fear in her eyes and voice, but despite everything she still pulled on her binds. Still fighting. Irene had to look away. What more would Irene have to watch?**

**_How much would it take for her to actually make a move?_ **

**“Subject 22, after everything you’ve already gone through, this will be painless.” What a comfort Irene’s father was. Really, I was envious of Irene for having him as a father.**

**When he stepped back to let Sungjae do his job, Irene stepped next to her father to talk with him.**

**“What are you doing? We’ve never done this to a subject before.”**

**“We haven’t, and that’s why we lost the last one. Subject 22 is too powerful for us to handle, and so we’re giving us insurance to keep us safe. So that we may carry on testing on her.”**

**Everything that happened with Sungjae seemed to happen so fast. I don’t know if it went fast in general or if it went by like a blur for Irene. All I knew was that I barely understood how we got to this moment.**

**Sungjae, this young-young guy, just waltzed in with an unsettling smirk and took Wendy’s memories away like it was nothing. Just a minor stop in his day, while Irene stood there beyond herself. Except, for Wendy and her sake, she couldn’t show it. I don’t know how she managed it when Wendy looked as frightened as she did. Irene must be a lot stronger than I am. Because if I were in her position and Moonbyul was in Wendy’s, I think I would have gone crazy. Maybe something even crazier would have happened than what I’d done to the Principal.**

**I wouldn’t be able to handle just watching all of our precious memories disappear like they were nothing.**

**God, I missed her. I missed her being safe by my side. So even if being with her in her mind helped, it wasn’t the same. I missed being able to touch her, and feel her comfort. I missed how she’d always find a way to get what she wanted, and the way she looked at me in a manner that couldn’t be matched. We didn’t really need any special way of communicating when we were together.**

**I smiled just thinking about it. She totally took advantage of it too. She knew I could never resist giving her a kiss when she asked me with her eyes. How could I when she looked at me like I was her world? And knowing the feeling was mutual? Man, it was the best thing in the world.**

**So if Moonbyul was in Wendy’s position, there’s no way I would have stood and watched. Our memories were too precious. I couldn’t say Irene didn’t care like I did, though. She doesn’t exactly have the same gift as me, so she’s was just playing it smart for a woman with her conditions. It was the right move. I admired her for it.**

**The fact that Wendy lost her memory was devastating. We didn’t make it in time to save her from that, and I was crushed. She lost her childhood, her family, her friends, and every precious moment she held dear to her. Irene recognized this too, and she looked at Wendy with just as much of a lost feeling. She was thinking that she had failed, but she still doesn’t know she has another chance in my team. We can still get her out.**

**I hated to even think it, but the loss was also an opportunity. Her desperation would make it more likely for her to take a chance on us. And, we really needed that chance.**

**Maybe we needed more than a chance, and maybe I could be the one to make it reality. After everything that Moonbyul made me do in her bunk, who was I to say there was some limit to my powers? I just had to develop the new skill Moonbyul showed me. It’s true that all I did was give Byul a feeling of my presence, but if I could somehow use that presence to create an urge, I could get Irene to want to visit Moonbyul, and finally I would no longer be just a spectator. In more ways than one. First being that I wouldn’t just be on the outside of the facility, watching through other people, and two, probably the most scary way of all, is that I’m no longer just a passive watcher from people’s minds.**

**Even just thinking it gave me a shiver. It was quite a bit of power, wasn’t it? I tried expanding the room I took up in Irene’s mind, and kept supplying the thought that she should see Moonbyul. I had no way of knowing whether or not it was working because for the moment, Irene was still preoccupied. I felt her anxiety spike though, and I thought that it might have been because she wanted to do something that she couldn’t get to, so I pulled back a bit.**

**Despite everything that had happened, Irene was still tasked with taking Wendy back to her room. Wendy didn’t know who Irene was, or what she was doing, but she still had an effect on her. Unsurprisingly, when Sungjae was finished, Wendy freaked out a bit. Who wouldn’t when they were surrounded by a bunch of people in lab coats, and you had absolutely no idea what you were doing there? She didn’t quiet down until her dad told Irene to take care of her.**

**There was no mistaking everything Wendy was feeling. She showed everything on her face. Irene stepped up to her and soothed her with a gentle gaze, something her other colleagues didn’t seem capable of offering.**

**“Wendy, please, there’s no need to worry.”** **Irene whispered softly so no one else would hear.**

**“Wendy?” Something as simple as her name, she didn’t even remember.**

**“Yes, that’s your name. It definitely isn’t Subject 22, I can assure you.”**

**Wendy shook her head as if the movement would clear her head and everything that was taken from her would return. When that didn’t seem to work she accepted Irene’s word as truth. I suppose her name wasn’t her biggest concern at that moment. I mean considering… “What do you mean I don’t need to worry? I’m tied to a chair.” She said as she pulled at the binds.**

**Irene laid her hand on one of her arms. “This was just a precaution for your own safety. I’ll be more than glad to explain everything as soon as we get you to your room, and you calm down a bit. Can I trust you to give me a little faith, so I can release you from these?”**

**Wendy looked at her skeptically, weighing her options. The way Wendy looked Irene now, did nothing but add salt to her wombs. Moments ago, Wendy had basically confessed to her, and now she was just afraid of her. Irene tried soothing her with gentle touches to assure that she really was on her side, but it wasn’t really Wendy anymore. Touching her didn’t seem familiar and reassuring like before. It most likely didn’t have the same effect on Wendy anymore either. Right now, she was just the nicest scientist to approach her.**

**At least Wendy, by her nature, gave Irene the benefit of the doubt. There wasn’t much she could do anyway. I’m sure Wendy would rather listen than risk being forced to do things she didn’t want to.**

**The fact that Irene was still given the task of taking care of Wendy after what happened, was cause for concern to me. Did her dad really trust that her intentions were purely for their cause, whatever it was, or was it some sort of test? If anything, we had to work under the assumption that he would be watching Irene a lot more closely from now on.**

**After telling Wendy to rest and reassuring her that she would be back, Irene walked out of the bunk feeling nauseous. But like I said, Irene is strong, so she pushes the feeling the away, and follows the urge I gave her.**

**Her steps are a lot heavier than before, angry sounding. Along with the anxiety of feeling like she needed to do something, she’s grown mad. I know she had every right to be, but it didn’t seem like it was directed at the right person.**

**When she gets to Moonbyul’s room, she pushes the door in with a lot more force than necessary. Moonbyul sits up fast, not surprised to see Irene, but startled by the force of the interruption.**

**“Irene, what’s the matter?” Moonbyul looks at her with a guarded gaze. She didn’t expect to be looked at like she was the bad guy.**

**“Why don’t you tell me? You have to have something to do with it.” This was throwing me off guard too. What could Moonbyul have done from her bunk?**

**“Something to do with what?”**

**Irene didn’t respond right away. She was studying Moonbyul, and everything from her body language said that she really didn’t know what Irene was going on about.**

**“Alright, I’m sorry.” Some of the sternness left her voice, but she still wasn’t completely satisfied. “But tell me, why did I suddenly have the strongest urge to come see you? It was impossible to put it out of my mind.”**

**Moonbyul furrowed her eyebrows for a moment, but not a moment later the answer hit her.**

**“Solar!” She exclaimed with a wide dopey smile.**

**“Solar?”**

**“Sorry. Solar’s my girlfriend. This might take some time to explain, do you have some time?”**

**At the moment, Irene wanted answers no matter what the cost. “Yes, tell me.” She said crossing her arms. I can imagine that she looked pretty intimating. I knew she had the eyes to display that emotion well. Moonbyul was doing little to show that she wasn’t affected by her.**

**“Um, I didn’t get here by chance, or because your corporation or whatever found me. It’s actually the other way around. When all this happened to me, I didn’t go looking for any answers, because there was a lot going on with me, but also because I wasn’t the only one.”**

**“My girlfriend, Solar, also has a gift. A gift that is, in my opinion, much more impressive than mine.”**

**As much as I liked seeing Moonbyul gush over me, I wished she’d stop. Irene just had, not her girlfriend, but someone she really cared about basically taken from her, and it wasn’t helping the pain to see someone else rave about their special someone. It was making her a bit envious, but it was mostly the thought of her developing feelings hitting a wall that couldn’t be climbed that hurt the most. The look in Moonbyul’s eyes, the way she talked about me, it was something Irene didn’t have the chance to have. Something she was just about to let herself try for. For the first time.**

**“She saw Wendy in this place, and the experiments going on. We were looking for her.”**

**“You guys know about Wendy?” Now Irene was interested.**

**“Know about her, yeah. We also knew her.”**

**“How?” Irene took a step closer.**

**“She’s from our high school, and we aim to get her out of here. That’s something you can help us with, right?”**

**Irene opened her mouth but didn’t say anything. Her mind was everywhere and I was having a hard time shuffling through her webs.**

**“How exactly did Solar see Wendy? What’s her power? I want to know everything before I put Wendy’s fate in the hands of a couple of high schoolers.” Irene demanded.**

**“Okay, no problem.” Moonbyul gave in easily. “Solar’s a bit like that guy that brought me in.”**

**“Sungjae.” Irene said venomously.**

**“Right, Sungjae. His power’s come from his mind the way hers does. She can get into people’s minds and see everything they do, feel everything they do too, and as we just discovered, she can urge you to come see me, plus she can communicate with me. We’re still working on things, but that’s the gist of it.”**

**“So what? Where do we go from here?”  
“We know some of what’s going on here, but we don’t know where this place is or how big it is. We need you to meet up with them. Give them something they can work from.” **

**Irene turned away and chewed on the inside of her cheek. As far as she could tell, us “high schoolers” were her best shot as of now.  “Fine, let’s meet. Where would be good?”**

**“Um I don’t have any idea where we are, so maybe you can give me an idea and they can meet you half way…”**

**“We’re in the Gwangdaehan forest.” She revealed without hesitation. “Somewhere deep in there.”**

**Moonbyul’s eyebrows shot up but she nodded unsurprised. “This forest is dangerous… Holds too many secrets. Well, I want to give you an address but I want to know if I can fully trust you, so I’m going to wait for Solar’s approval. She must me with us. Just not with me, as far as I can tell.”**

**Irene raised her hand to her head feeling unsettled. “She’s in my head then?” She answered her own question feeling no less unsettled. “Of course, she gave me the urge as you said…”**

**I gasped sitting up fast, taking three deep breaths as I looked around for water.**

**“Solar, holy shit! You scared me!” Wheein yelled while still managing to hand me a water bottle. “I thought you said you were going to take a nap!”**

**“I know, sorry. I just couldn’t take a break like that. But it’s was a good thing.” I said after a long drink.**

**Just then Hwasa bursts through the office door with a bag of food looking at us with wide eyes. All I could focus on was the food because, God, was I hungry. I had impeccable timing, at least.**

**“Jesus, are you guys okay?! Wheein, you nearly made me drop the bag of tteokbokki!”**

**“It was Solar’s fault! She came out of comatose like some crazy ass zombie!”**

**I paid no mind to their bickering. I had my full focus on the food. I reached my hands out to Hwasa like a kid begging from their mother. Not only was I starving, but it was my favorite.**

**“I’ll catch you guys up on everything, while we’re eating. Just please feed me now.”**

**“Damn, you sound desperate. You had nothing to worry about though, we weren’t going to hold it from you. Dig in.” Hwasa said dropping the food in front of me.**

**“Shit… I can’t believe you gave her the address to the garage. She should be her soon, yeah?” Hwasa asked still hardly able to believe the progression of their current situation.**

**I’m sure after her best friend being taken and the fact that she was legitamently tortured, it sounded like a horrible idea. Under normal circumstances, I would have completely agreed, but we aren’t under normal circumstances. I know what Irene’s intentions are. After Wendy’s memories were taken, there was a hard shift in her. She wanted Wendy safe. Really. With no alternative motive. Whatever alliances she held toward that place and their ideals, at the very least she shifted them back.**

**“Yes, I did. But just trust that whatever I do, I do with confidence that it will help us get Moonbyul and Wendy back. Honestly, we’re lucky that there’s someone in there with conflicting feelings towards their whole operation. Everyone else seems so… on board. They seem so gray, so unfeeling towards the subjects.”**

**“I just can’t wait until she gets here. I’ve felt like we’ve been at a standstill forever. I want to get them out. Wendy…” Wheein trailed off sadly from where she was sitting, while her leg bounced uncontrollably.**

**“I agree. It’s about time we make a move.” I was ready. Except, we didn’t exactly have a real plan… The fact that we may not have been capable is what scared me the most.**

**It was only about a half an hour since we all arrived at the garage for a new day, but it seemed like forever until Irene was finally pulling in.**

**We stuck it out in the cold garage, wanting to see her as soon as she pulled in. We didn’t exactly have Moonbyul there to warn us of her impending arrival.**

**No one said anything as the scientist exited her car. I could feel the excitement from Hwasa and Wheein, finally able to the girl they’ve only just heard about. She stood at her door a bit awkwardly. She was probably waiting for one of us to make an introduction, but none of us did. I realize that it should have been me. Between all of us, I had the most information. I mean I was in the woman’s head for God’s sake.**

**She cleared her throat and squared her shoulders. “I’m Irene…Which one of you is Solar?”**

**Well, I couldn’t avoid this.**

**“Me. I’m Solar.”**

**I pointed at the others and introduced them as well. Wheein waved with an awkward smile, while Hwasa simply nodded.**

**“Good to meet you…” Irene said uncomfortably. Then she dropped her shoulders, and shook her head at a loss. “I don’t really know where to begin.”**

**“Why don’t we start by going inside? It’s freezing out here?” I motioned for her to follow me so we could all warm up and maybe feel more comfortable.**

**Once we were settled in, there was nothing to do except get straight down to business. “So we know that the facility is somewhere in the Gwangdaehan forest, but that place is huge. We gotta know where specifically, and how far it is from here.”**

**writing this is hard**


	9. Nine

Solar’s POV

“So there are only two others, excluding Moonbyul and Wendy?”

 

“Right.” Irene confirmed.

 

“Then why do you say Subject 22 and 55 instead of just 2 and 5.” This whole time Solar thought this facility was holding at least 55 other people that have been struck and given powers. It was definitely a relief because it only increased their chances of helping out the others being held in the facility, but she had spent quite a bit of time thinking about all the possible powers these other people could have held. It made more sense this way though. No way could they have taken so many people and kept the secret underground. Never mind the fact that there probably would have been more buzz about people with powers in the first place.

 

“I don’t know really.” Irene shrugged. She was sitting at the desk in the office with a big paper laid out before her. “I think my dad just liked the double numbers better.” She was attempting to draw out a floor plan of the facility so everything would be a lot easier to understand when she explained it to us. Unfortunately, Irene wasn’t too good of an artist, so we’ll just have to see how that goes.

 

“So what’s up with the other ones? Like, what powers do they possess?” Hwasa asked from the couch, where she was toying around with the tech stuff she went out to get from her dad’s shop.

 

“Ooh, what’s this?” Wheein was also playing around with them, but more like a kid would play with things they shouldn’t.

 

“Um, I’ll explain everything after Irene leaves.”  
  


Wheein pouted. “That’s fair...” The pout was soon replaced by a grin, like she had thought of something brilliant. “You have to show me how everything works later, then.”

 

Hwasa chuckled and smiled ducking her head to pretend like she was inspecting something closely. “Of course.”

 

Irene looked on them with a knowing gleam in her eyes, but the sight before her only seemed to dampen her mood further. I wouldn’t have thought it could have be possible. She shook her head lightly, looked back down, and responded to Hwasa’s question once everyone was ready to listen.

 

“Subject 33 is capable of some incredible camouflaging. He was just beginning to become capable of cloaking himself from thermal cameras even. You could say he has the power of invisibility if you wanted. It’s really incredible.” Irene murmured thoughtfully. “Um, all of the subjects are incredible, really.”

Irene cleared her throat and moved on. “Subject 44 is intangible, meaning she can shift her atoms so that she’s able to pass through anything. She’d be able to walk right out of the facility if we didn’t manufacture incredibly dense metal to keep her in.” Irene rubbed her hand over her face and sighed. She was feeling a wave of guilt, and I think it’s the first time it’s hit her. At least as it was concerned to these subjects. I know she’s felt it on behalf of Wendy. She just hadn’t humanized the others yet as she was doing now.

 

Every moment she spent outside of the facility seemed to permit more realizations within her. I couldn’t have noticed it before, but it almost seemed like a fog in her mind was slowly dissolving.

  
“Subject 33, his name is Kibum and Subject 44, her name is Yeri. I don’t know if you plan on rescuing them, but I can’t talk about them like they’re just lab rats anymore.” Irene lowered her head even more and continued mapping out the facility.

 

“We can’t leave them behind.” Wheein said resolutely.

 

 

“Right.” Hwasa backed her.

 

“Right, we’ll have to find a way to get them all out safely as well.” It didn’t matter that it made things more complicated. After hearing their names, I knew we would all risk it for their sake.

 

“From what Solar has told me, the doors there are automated, and they work by a key card right?”

 

 

“Yes, that’s right.”

 

“It’s a good thing I started working with my dad again. I’m all caught up on all this stuff.” Hwasa pushed herself up from the couch and moved over to Irene so she could look at her blue print. Wheein wasn’t far behind. “How hard do you think it’ll be for us to get into the security room?”

 

“Well it’s a relatively small facility, so most people know each other, but it’s sort of a weird, uncomfortable environment. You might be able to get by just by keeping your heads down and wearing a lab coat. I don’t know what you can do once you get to the room, which is a bit out of the way from where I’ll let you in.” She pointed to both destinations on her layout. “The security team doesn’t leave the room unless there’s a new suspect or we have an emergency, and even then, two people remain there at all times. But I’d expect you to meet all six. We researchers never have emergencies we can’t handle because of my father’s weapon. We usually handle everything ourselves.”

 

“I can take care of them.” Every one turns to me with a questioning look on their face.

What I did to the principal that time, making him black out, wasn’t just some anomaly. It was another part to my powers that I’m going to have to learn to use. I figure then will be a good time.

 

“How are you going to manage that?” Wheein’s the only one to speak her mind. I can feel that all of them are reluctant to believe me. It hurts a bit. Have they not considered all the things I’ve managed to do this far?

 

  1. think I can emulate what I did to Principal Lee that time,” I explain.



 

“What do you mean by that?” Irene asks, her scientist curiosity finally revealing itself. I already knew how fascinated she was by my gift. I’m sure she wanted to know the mechanics of it. I didn’t even understand it, so good luck to her.

 

“Once when Moonbyul was in danger, I managed to knock out a threat. I’m not exactly sure what I did, but it seemed like I gave him so much input that his brain couldn’t manage it. I remember how it felt, and recent developments give me confidence that I can do this.”

 

“How sure are you that you can do it again? If you aren’t one hundred percent, we’ll need a plan B.” It was a reasonable question from Hwasa, but I really couldn’t answer it with pure certainty.

 

But there was something telling me that I could do it. I mean the safety of Moonbyul and three other innocent people was on the line. If I bared all that in mind, I was sure I could put a few people down. It was nothing fatal anyway.

“I’m certain.”

 

“Alright then, we have that set. Then once we get in, I can get us access to the prisoners.” Hwasa said confidently. “Where are they kept?”

 

 

 

The feeling of uneasy anticipation in the car was palpable. I could practically hear the pounding of each of our hearts the way Moonbyul would have been able to. I think part of the reason was because we didn’t make much of a plan after all.

 

We just knew that things would change once we got in there, and once that happened we would have to wing it anyway. There was no way of knowing how every person was going to react, so each situation was impossible to anticipate, so we thought, why waste time planning? Instead, we just got as familiar with the place as we could so at least we’d know where to run when we got ourselves in a jam.

 

At least, Hwasa gave us a way to communicate with one another via headset just in case we got separated.

 

“You know Hwasa, the scientist costume looks amazing on you. Maybe you should think about becoming one so you could wear it all the time.” Wheein took her eyes off the bumpy road for a moment to look over at her passenger. She was trying to lighten the mood, but I knew she just how much she meant what she said.

 

“Pfft,” Hwasa waved away the thought. “I’d look amazing as a librarian too, but I sure as hell ain’t becoming one.” Then she chuckled more shyly. “It’s just the glasses.” She reached her hand up to adjust them self-consciously.

 

“Hmm.” Wheein hummed in approval. “I really like them.”

 

If Moonbyul were here, I know we would have shared a knowing look… But no worries, I’d be able to tell her about this soon. I could almost feel her getting closer.

 

Moonbyul knew that we were coming. I was there when Irene told her about what little we had planned. I was tempted to visit her now, but I knew I had to save my energy. I wouldn’t be able to get into peoples’ mind while I slept this time. It saved a lot of energy, but I had to stay conscious and ready for anything in there.

 

We reached the opening in the trees that led to the facility, and we all collectively took a deep breath then shakily released it. We were lucky that Hwasa’s dad drove a black car, otherwise we would have stuck out like a sore thumb. Every car there looked like a matching set, and the building was just as Irene described. A simple white squarish design that sparsely had any windows.

 

I don’t know if it was because I knew what was going on within it or what, but the place didn’t look right. It didn’t feel right either. The look of it and everything surrounding got me feeling even more apprehensive than I should be.

 

Wheein carefully drove around the back like Irene instructed her to, right next to the door that was supposedly the drop off zone.

 

“Alright guys, there’s no need to worry. We got this. For Moonbyul, for Wendy, and for those innocent people.” I said much more calmly than I felt.

 

“As long as we have each other’s backs, we’ll get through this.” Wheein reached back, grabbed my hand, Hwasa’s too, and gave each of us a squeeze.

 

“Alright.” I opened the door and jumped out. I knew I was feeling Moonbyul now, and the fact that I knew she could hear us from here pushed me to get moving. “We’re coming to get you, Love.”

 

My hand was on the handle now, ready to open. At least, Irene assured us it would be. I looked at the other two and gave them a nod. There was no going back now.

 

The familiar white environment was the first thing to greet me. It was like a regular observing room at the doctors, except that the bed had straps on it. A very important difference. I couldn’t help but swallow hard. I had already this, but seeing it in person was quite different.

 

“Just act like you belong, and very little people will question it. Trust me.” Hwasa was at the handle this time. One of her hands was on the handle ready to open the door, while her other one held her bag filled with her father’s devices. The confidence she exuded was infectious, so I took a moment to soak it in, and display it on myself.

 

I nodded when I was ready and out we went, into the white halls I’ve seen so many times already. They were empty for the moment.

 

“It’s so quiet.” Wheein softly commented. She had noticed it too. The only sound was our footsteps moving through the halls. I don’t know if it made it more comfortable or eerie. I’d say eerie; it felt like we were walking through a horror game. “Do you think this is normal? Where is everyone?”

 

Hwasa shook her head to say she didn’t know and continued to lead the way. “We shouldn’t worry about things we can’t get answers to. Let’s just get to the security room, and worry about things as they come.”

 

I suppose she was right. There wasn’t anything we could do, but I still felt uneasy. There was no way they could have known we were coming, right?

No. The feeling could have been from anything. Irene did mention that the atmosphere was uncomfortable in here, and I felt that. It just didn’t feel right. If there were canaries in here, I bet they would have been singing.

 

We walked through four halls before passing anyone. They kept their head down, and never once looked up from the files in their hands. We all shared an uneasy look and kept walking. We all seemed to agree that it was more than intense concentration that had them acting that way.

We knew we made it to the security room when we came upon a big, heavy grey door. It was my time to step up to the door first again. I shut my eyes and felt for the people in the room. I could feel five people in there. I opened my eyes and held up five fingers, I knew they would be interested to know even if it wouldn’t matter after I dealt with them. I took a deep breath. I was ready. I knew I was strong, and I knew I could do it.

 

Pushing myself into five people at once was quite a trial, but not one I couldn’t handle, even if it was the first time I pushed myself without Moonbyul’s instruction. She’s going to be proud. It was disorienting at first, feeling so many clashing emotions at once, but I didn’t need to filter through their feelings, I just needed to make them feel more. So much more their brain couldn’t handle the traffic. Doing that was no easy task, but it wasn’t complicated.

 

The moment I felt release, I knew I had done it. I couldn’t track any mind in there now. I confidently reached for the handle, but I was met with some resistance. There must have been someone right next to the door, because the door felt extremely heavy. Wheein had to step up to help push it open.

 

“Wow,” Wheein murmured in disbelief. “You dropped all of them without having to even walk into the room.”

 

“I know. Crazy isn’t it?” I tapped one of the other guys with my foot, and it was clear he was out cold.

I took a look around, and noticed that the room was actually really small. No wonder the guy was so close to the door.

My eyes were ultimately pulled to wall before us, where the monitors were. There was only one monitor with viewable people on it. It looked like there was a meeting going on in one of the other rooms. Irene must have forgotten about it because she gave no mention of it before.

“Look at that.” I pointed to the screen the meeting was being shown. “This is our best shot. Most of them are preoccupied.”

 

“Already on it.” Hwasa said from, what I could only assume to be the control box. “Just give me a moment, it isn’t going to be easy, working against the system.”

 

“We’ll keep our eyes on the screens in the meantime.” There wasn’t much to see, except empty halls and white walls. There was also a clear shot of the back where we came from. Our disguise must have been enough after all if they didn’t give us any resistance.

 

“Is this one of the baton’s they used torture the subjects?” I turned around to look at Wheein, who was apparently going through one of the knocked out guards things. It looked a lot bigger in Wheein’s small hands.

“Yeah, that’s one of ‘em alright.”

“There’s two settings: Sustain and Out.”

“What’s theirs set on?”

“Out.”

“Must be to-“ I was interrupted by the door opening up, revealing a guard that hadn’t been in the room. All three of our heads turned to the man that had just walked in, but Wheein was the only one to react. As soon as she did, there was a thud, and he was out just like the rest of them.

 

“Did you just use the baton?“

 

“Yes. Yes, I did.” She paused then spoke again, just as calm as before. “Help me pull him into the room.” The guy had fallen in front of the door, preventing it from fully closing.

I nodded and grabbed one the man’s arms and Wheein the other. With a heave, we managed to layer him above the other guy that was close to the door.

 

As soon as we settled him down, there was a chuckle from the other girl in the room. Her head was still down in her work, but I could see the proud grin on her face. “Nice reaction time there, Wheein.”

 

“I nearly had a fucking heart attack.” She held her hand to her chest. She still clutched the baton in the other hand, and she looked at it now like she forgot she held it. “The ‘out’ setting on this is very effective… I don’t think I should keep it though… I mean, should I?”

 

I shrug. “It’s up to you. The guy ain’t dead so… It’s not any worse than what I just did.”

I looked back to the screens, realizing that I had taken my eyes off them for too long. Lucky for me, most of the staff was still in the meeting, but Hwasa worked faster than she anticipated.

 

“Done. All the doors should remain unlocked until someone comes in to fix it. We’re free to move anywhere, and the cameras are frozen.”

 

“Hwasa, you’re amazing.” I gushed.

 

“I know.”

 

“Good.” I cracked a smile at that. “Let’s get going.”

 

Moonbyul’s POV

I heard Hwasa confirm it, but I wouldn’t know if it was true until I actually tried. I knew there was no one around to see me leave, but I carefully tried the handle anyway. I knew better than to question Hwasa. I pushed the door open and stepped out, ready to run to Solar, but our reunion would be a lot sweeter if it actually led to getting out. So instead I went down the hall that led to Wendy. I followed the way I heard Irene go so many times before.

 

If I didn’t hear the soft sound of Wendy breathing, I would have thought Wendy was dead. She was so still on her bed staring up at the ceiling. She must have been so lost. She barely even spared a glance at me.

 

“Wendy, you may not know me anymore, but I knew you before they took your memories. I want to get you out of here.”

 

She finally turned her whole face towards me, her eyebrows quirked with interest. I saw her assess my wardrobe, and she finally realized what this was. Irene had told her about it, but I knew Wendy must have been skeptical. What would be worse than getting ones hopes up for an escape only to be let down?

 

“Irene wasn’t lying?”

 

“No. Come on, we don’t have much time.”

 

She nodded and got up. I could hear the girls getting close. We might actually pull this off without a problem.

 

I really shouldn’t have thought anything because the moment I did, I heard everyone in the meeting being dismissed. _Damn._

“Stay close to me.”

I stepped back out and fought the urge to meet Solar halfway. I could hear her coming faster now. She must have felt the shift in the air the way I did. There was something more to those meetings.

 

 

Solar’s POV

The odd air felt stronger than before. It boosted my sense of urgency. Something must have happened. I have no idea what it was, but I could feel it.

“We’re close.” I assured the girls behind me. It was just a bit further, but I could hear them now. It wasn’t hard to miss the echoing of feet racing towards us in these halls. The tiles made sure of that. They knew we were here now. I was sure of it. There was only one way they could have known. Irene. I don’t know what changed her mind, but we had keep moving.

“Run!”

 

I wish I could put more time into this to make it better. Sorry y'all


	10. Ten

Moonbyul's POV 

They were racing towards us now. Not just my friends, but it sounds like what’s probably the whole staff. I didn’t have much time to consider my options, so my first instinct seemed good enough to me right now. I know where the other “subjects” were being held from listening to their rounds. I knew I could get to them, and if I’m able to do that at least, it’ll save us some time. 

“Why do you look so scared? What’s happened?” Wendy asks, feeling her anxiety build because she can see Moonbyul’s clearly doing the same. 

Moonbyul quickly corrects her expression, and tries to put on a brave face. “Um… Nothing. I just heard some of the typical crap these scientists say. Still, we should move.” Moonbyul goes to the closest room without another thought, and pulls Wendy behind her. 

 She doesn’t give the slightly older guy the courtesy of a knock. She figures he’ll forgive her when he hears her proposal. To his credit, he barely flinches when she bursts in. 

“If you want to try your chance at an escape, come with me now.” 

Moonbyul sees him take in her appearance, and Wendy’s behind her. The fact that they’re dressed as subjects too must be enough to convince him. He jumps up from his bed and holds the door open for them as they walk out. Moonbyul doesn’t waste time moving on to the next captive. Hopefully getting her on board will be just as easy. 

It doesn’t seem like such a good start when Moonbyul bursts in and the girl that had been napping on her cot doesn’t bother to open her eyes. She doesn’t seem to get disturbed by the intrusion, but Moonbyul can tell that she’s awake. 

“We’re here to give you a chance at an escape. If you want to take it, come with us.” 

At the word “escape” the young girl’s eyes immediately pop open, and finally she turns her head with a raised brow, clearly interested in the proposal. 

“Do you have a plan?” 

“Not really. I can’t assure that you won’t get caught again if that’s what you’re asking.” Moonbyul admits. They had the right to know. 

“Okay,” She says simply. She didn’t even pause to consider the odds. Moonbyul isn’t sure it even mattered in the first place. The young girl hops up from her bed and joins them. 

They just had to meet up with the others now, but what came after meeting them was going to be the hard part. The rush and the uncertainty really ruined what could have been a nice reunion with Solar because none of it’s going to matter unless they get out of here, and their chances just keep getting slimmer and slimmer. 

“Come on this way.” 

Moonbyul keeps Wendy close by holding her arm. Seeing her now in person looking as frail as she did - it made her protective. Moonbyul wondered why the other two were in such better shape, but she guesses it would probably be useless asking now considering her memory problem.  

The girls were close now. There was almost no point in running, but the sooner she got to see Solar the better. 

Just when she reaches the end of the hall, she runs smack right into the girl that was on her mind. It was only then that Moonbyul lets go of Wendy, only so she can grab onto Solar by her shoulders. They stare at each other wide eyed like they were surprised, but really they were just overwhelmed. 

"Moonbyul," Solar said with a tight voice, her bottom lip trembling. "I'm so sorry." She reached up and stroked Moonbyul's hair down to her shoulders like she was checking if Moonbyul was really here. 

"Don't worry, I'm fine." Moonbyul tried to assure her, but when Solar didn't seem convinced Moonbyul had to cave. She leaned forward and gave Solar a short, electric kiss that left much to be desired. "I'm fine." Moonbyul repeated, smiling a bit at Solar's stunned look.

"Guys..." Wheein said impatiently. 

They couldn’t have a truly satisfying reunion just then, but Moonbyul couldn’t resist at least cupping the side of Solar’s face knowing she would lean into the touch. She missed the feel of her, the warmth of her. 

“Is Irene still with us?” Moonbyul was the first to break the silence. 

“I’m not sure.” Solar responds, never taking her eyes off Moonbyul’s. 

“Where’s the closest way out?” 

“Back by the security room.” 

“So back in the direction everyone is coming from?” 

“Yes.” Solar murmured, knowing how bad it sounded. Well that certainly made things a lot more complicated. 

“Well then, I guess Irene’s our only hope at this point. She helped us once, she can do it again. Push her to it if you have to.” 

“Now?” Solar asked in disbelief. “While everyone is running after us? Don’t you think it’s going to be a bit of a problem?”   
“We’ll worry about that. You just do your thing, and I’ll lead you just like before.” 

 

Solar’s POV 

I knew exactly what she was referring to. The time I used Moonbyul’s senses to move around the pitch black cabin, but I remained conscious in my own body still capable of moving around. 

I nodded. It was a good idea. “Okay.” I tried to lean in closer. I missed her. I missed having her by my side during the hard stuff. It felt nice to have her support by me again. 

“Okay.” She smiled at me encouragingly, finally removing her hand from my face to take my hand instead. 

I didn’t need Moonbyul to tell me how close behind me they were, so as soon as my hand was firmly in hers I went to Irene. I had faith in Irene. This all can’t be as it seems.  

 

Missing the fog now would have been impossible. It was so much more present than it was just the day before. I think she was beginning to recognize that it was there herself because the guilt from giving us up was bleeding through, and with how strong the fog was, I’m sure that wouldn’t happen otherwise. 

“Wendy.” She said into the now empty room. It echoed back to her and seemed to wake her up just enough to bolt from her chair, knocking over her seat in the process. “Wendy!” She cried in remorse. 

It turns out that I didn’t need to urge her to do anything, I just need to straighten out her fabricated emotions to reveal her true ones. That’s what the fog had been. It’s residue from the mental manipulation that had been put onto her, and, I’m sure, the staff as well. I don’t know who had done it to her, to everyone in here, but it explains why the staff and the building felt so weird. No one was their true self. 

“They’ve got some sort of mind control on the staff.” Being half with Irene and half with myself made my voice sound weird and distant, but the fact that I could communicate with them at all made me feel accomplished. “If I can manage to detangle her from it, I’m pretty sure that she’ll help us.”  

“Well then I guess in the meantime we better hide ourselves, huh?” I heard Hwasa say, sounding even more distant than before. Working on fixing Irene’s mind was taking a lot of concentration.  

“I agree.” I heard Moonbyul say to Hwasa. “I’ll lead you around, just keep working.” I hear her say close to my ear.  

Of course, I trust her and I could probably finish the task faster if I left my body mobile but left my mind bare to fix on Irene, so whatever’s happening here will be a mystery to me for now. 

 

The only way I could think of freeing Irene from the mask was by revealing the emotions that were lies. If I did that, hopefully her true emotions would come out and bring out the real memories that were connected to them. 

I don’t know how I managed such feat when Irene’s mind was so cluttered and unfamiliar. The best way I could describe it was as a thick fog, muddling the truth and making a new one. The reason I noticed the fog before Irene and all the staff was because I could tell which emotions were fake, and from that I could see which memories must have been made up. I knew emotions, and the ones they gave them were probably meant to serve as a false sense of drive. That’s why Irene was so hesitant to let go of the cause. 

Shuffling through her emotions allowed me to see the story that Irene was told to believe these past years. The biggest story defining her past was of her mother’s death. She was given an origin that was supposed to turn her against people like me, people with gifts. She was told that her mother was brutally murdered by a pyromancer.  

Irene didn’t know what to expect when she saw the smoke coming from her neighborhood. She just remembers the surge of fear that came when she saw the ambulance and firetruck fly past her and turn right into the street she was heading to. She started walking quicker, holding tighter onto the bag of groceries she was sent out to get not even an hour earlier. Once she reached the street, she could smell the smoke and by then her heart was racing. She sprinted towards her house needing to appease her fear, but she didn’t have to go much further to see that her fear was confirmed. Her house was up in flames, and she knew that if her mom wasn’t out by then… 

Irene couldn’t get too close to the scene, even after telling the people in uniform that it was her home. She could do nothing but watch from afar as everything she had and loved went down to nothing but ashes.  

It was while she was watching with watery eyes that some mysterious man came up to her, smelling more like smoke than probably the house itself.  

He said to her, “I’m glad you weren’t in there after all. It would have been a waste for someone as pretty as you to die that way. Not that your mother wasn’t either, but someone had to die to teach you father a lesson.” He reached out to grab a strand of Irene’s hair, but she flinched away before he could touch her. He only grinned in response. “Make sure to tell your dad that if he gives into Minji’s requests, I’ll have to burn you after all.”  

He raised his hand then, it was a ball of flames - Irene could feel the heat from it even then. He made it look like he was about to reach out and touch her, but when Irene flinched back he stopped and laughed finding her fear amusing. 

He gave her once last long look and disappeared into the growing crowd, never to show up again. Irene and her father vowed to find him and bring him to justice despite his threat. The threat never scared them, it only acted as fuel for their desire to find him. Just because they weren't afraid, it didn't mean that weren't cautious. Once Irene’s father got assurance that they would remain hidden in her facility, they both have been working for Minji on the promise that she would help them find him.  

I wasn’t even sure the pyromancer was real, but the name Minji sounded familiar. I would have to think about it later. For now, I needed to set Irene right so she could help us.  

There was real sadness Irene had for the loss of her mother, but it was by more common means. Her mother was a victim of cancer, not because some crazy person with gifts killed her.  

Knowing the truth meant that Irene had no ties or reason to help this place. She only had to worry about freeing Wendy and her father. 

Irene stands there a moment while the truth settles in her mind. She’s pissed. Her fists are balled up at her sides because it’s all she can do to keep herself from breaking something.  

But we don’t need rage right now. We need her to do something, so that’s what I urge her to do. We need her on the right track or her deliverance will help us all very little. I don’t have a plan, but she knows this place better, so maybe she could think of something.  

 Irene really was smart, so it only took her a moment to come up with an idea and get moving. She started running out the door and towards the experiment control room.  

“Solar, tell me if you’re still here.” 

I confirm that I am.  

“Great. I’m going to turn off all the precautions we have in the building set for each specific subject, so from then, they can use their powers undetected. In about three minutes, all of them should be able to take off their electrical safe guards. Tell Yeri that not every wall can keep her in, so she should check and not assume. Okay, I’m almost there. Go!” 

I took that as my queue to return to my body in full.  

 

Moonbyul’s POV 

Solar straightened up after coming back into her body and looked around a bit dazed. She must not have been expecting the dark room we were currently hiding in. 

“You’re back." Moonbyul gently stroked her hair, trying to center back to her body. "Is Irene going to help us?”   

“Yes.” Solar responded, smiling a bit. She was looking better already. She sought out the other subjects in the corner of the small room. “In about two minutes, you can take off your bracelets, and Wendy your helmet. You’ll be free to use your powers. Yeri, Irene told me that not every wall is impenetrable.” 

“So Irene is good after all?” Wendy asks from my other side. She’s wearing a confused face. I can see why it’d be hard for her to keep up with Irene's motives. 

“Yep.” Solar confirms. “I’ll have to explain later. I think I can also take care of your memory problem later too.” 

Before anything else is said, I want to remind everyone of the dire situation. “Not to alarm anyone, but they’re searching through the doors now. We need to think of something fast.” I could hear the scientists walking slower now, taking small, hesitant steps. They started opening the doors to check the rooms. They were steadily heading our way. 

Yeri broke off her bracelet and stomped on it. “Like what?” 

Wheein spoke up. “Don’t you guys, like, have super powers? You should be able to hide us right?” She nodded at Ki bum. “I’m pretty sure that’s what Irene intended” 

“Um…” He uttered hesitantly, but before he could say anything else Wheein turned her gaze on Yeri. 

“And what’s the difference between walking through walls and walking through people? We could probably walk right out of here now that we have you guys.”  

“That’s true. I mean it’s a good solution.” Hwasa agreed, nodding vigorously while glancing over at the door. I wouldn’t doubt it if she could hear them too by this point. They were very close. 

“They couldn’t have gotten out. We just have to keep searching. Let’s split up. You with me.” 

“Boss is going to be so pissed. The poor saps are really going to have it.” 

“Shh. Keep moving.” 

“It’s not that simple,” Ki bum said. 

“Yeah,” Yeri agreed. “I’ve never done something like that before.” 

“Well now’s your shot. It’s time to use all that testing they put you through against them.” Hwasa said sternly. There really wasn’t another option at this point.  

“Guys, either you give it a try now or we’re about to be found.” They just had a few more steps left.  

The urgency of our situation must have shown on my face because there was only a moment of build up before Ki bum made a move.  

"Alright, come together. It'll be easier for me to try that way. Okay," He heaved nervously. Ki bum closed his eyes and rolled his shoulders. "When I open my eyes, all of you will be invisible." I had a feeling he wasn't talking to us.  

I turned to look at Solar, and saw that she was indeed becoming less visible, and if I can see that then... 

"Woah," Solar whispered as her jaw slacked open. Obviously, Solar was seeing it judging by that cute face. “He’s doing it.” 

“When they come in, get ready to move out. I’ll make sure we can walk right through them.” Yeri whispered. “I’m not about to be upstaged.” She said even quieter.  

They, whoever they were, were just a door down now. Knowing exactly where they were didn't help to calm Moonbyul's nerves. If anything, it made things worse. Her pulse was by far the quickest and hardest.  

"Guys...." Moonbyul warned.  

"I think I'm good." Ki bum assured. 

"Me too." 

A moment after the words left Yeri's lip, the door shot open and two people in lab coats marched in armed with their batons. 

"Are you serious? They have to be around here somewhere." One of the scientists said exasperated.  

Moonbyul stood at the back of the pack with Solar right in front of her. She only knew because she could hear her, so Moonbyul wasn't sure how everyone else managed not to overlap. She heard all the others walk right through the scientists like they were nothing. That's so insane. 

"We'll find them eventually. Let's just move on." The first scientist’s companion responded, turning around letting the door shut behind her. Moonbyul was able to walk by right before it closed. She stopped for a moment to check it, and just as she suspected, it was too dense for her to put her hand through. She barely made it. 

 

They just had to keep moving. If they kept moving at this pace they’d be out of here in no time. But of course, things were never that simple.  

It seemed liked things were going to be smooth. They went down hall after hall, passing through trouble like they weren’t even there. Things got interrupted when a loud scream pierced each one of their ears. A sound system had turned on, echoing a scream throughout the halls. 

Everyone stopped and turned to look around in panic. No one knew what was happening, of course, and it wasn’t any of their screams. It didn’t sound like Irene either. It was pretty clearly a young boy, but they didn’t know of any. It didn’t matter much. The sound was enough to cause them to panic. 

“Solar,” Moonbyul whispered at her girlfriend who seemed just a bit more collected than the rest. “What’s happening?” 

“I don’t know. I can’t feel anyone in deep pain right now. Maybe it’s just a recording.” She barely finished her sentence before there was another loud screech that sounded like it was being torn from the kid’s throat. 

“Alright guys, just run!” Hwasa said while she started moving herself.  

They had just run around a corner when the loud screech abruptly cut off. When Moonbyul saw what was waiting for the group, she knew the scream was just being used to mess with them. They were forced into a dead end.  

At the end of the hall was a line of scientists each holding a cube that was audibly sending off waves. Of what? Moonbyul wasn’t sure, but if she had to guess she’d say they were meant to... No, she didn't know where to begin. 

“The boxes pulsing blue forcibly push atoms together. I can’t get past them. Not yet. I’ve tried so many times and never had I made progress.” Yeri answered one unspoken question.  

“The red boxes shoot light waves I can’t manipulate yet. I’d say we’re doomed.” Ki bum answered another which made each one of their hearts drop.  

Guess she didn't need to guess after all... 

“Where’s Irene?” Wendy said just barely above a whisper. Wendy hadn’t spoken much ‘til this point. It seems like she put a lot of trust in the scientist she basically, just met. Irene's brief time with her must have made an impression, but Moonbyul didn’t have an answer for her. She couldn't pinpoint her at the moment. There was too much going on. 

“Go on now. Try to make it past those boxes.” It was a woman’s voice. It wasn't someone that had been in the building before. Moonbyul didn’t recognize it. “If you can get past them, then you’re as good as scot-free.” Whoever was speaking sounded amused. She knew just as well as them that they couldn’t. No one spoke and no one moved.   

“Well, since you clearly aren’t going to try to make any moves, I’ll make you a proposal. Reveal yourselves now and calmly be escorted back to your bunks, and there won’t be too much punishment.” The way she said that clearly meant that there’s still going to be a sizeable amount. 

“Or you can be pushed back by those nice scientists before you, which mean you’ll eventually be rounded up and when we punish you, we’ll show you no mercy. You’ll be making noises just like the nice audio clip we played for you a minute ago. It’s your choice, but you only have ten seconds to decide.” She started counting down in the same breath. 

“We have no choice. We have to reveal ourselves.” Solar said. “We’ll figure this out later. All of us in here together, we’ll get out in no time.” She sounded confident. Moonbyul didn’t know how she did it, but she admired her for it. “Are you ready?” 

“I guess.” Ki bum sighed, sounding shaky.  

"If we have to." Yeri grumbled, sounding more annoyed than anything. 

 

Solar’s POV 

Getting to this darkened experiment room was tough. I know I have a lot more bruises now than I came in with. I also finally got to feel the sting of the baton for myself in my own body. The pain wasn’t a surprise for me, but it didn't stop the tears from involuntarily falling down my face. I know Wheein and Hwasa couldn’t have guessed how bad it really was. I had hoped they'd never know, but... I couldn't prevent it. They’re in their own rooms now, just like everyone else I was with, but I didn’t stick around for too long after checking in on them. Waiting in here has me worried enough. 

 I didn’t bother looking around the room. I was familiar with the place, but it did have a different feel with most of the lights off. It kind of feels like I’m in an interrogation room for the FBI or something.  

I sigh for maybe the fifth time as I wait for the lady on the speakers to come in. I know it’s going to be her and not Irene’s dad. I can feel that. I just can’t seem to find her. She’s going to be all uncharted area for me when she comes. 

Finally, I hear the door being pushed open. I turn to look at a pretty woman, about ten years older than me, walk in with a smug smile on her face. 

“Hello there. What can I call you? You can feel free to call me Minji. I’m certain you’re familiar with that name, aren’t you?” 

I was so panicked before I didn’t recognize where the name from Irene’s fake memory was from. It was in the blog and it was in the email responses from that blog. That Minji was real, and she was standing right in front of me. 

Her smile grows a bit as I have this realization, and my unsteadiness grows.  

“You wrote that-”  

Minji raises a finger shushing me immediately. “I don’t like when my questions go unanswered. What can I call you, you little intruder?” Her head tilts to the side just slightly as her dark eyes bore through my sockets right to my core. 

“S-Solar,” I can’t help but stutter. “My name is Solar.” 

“Ah Solar, I’ve taken a big interest in you.” The way she ends her sentence, I know she wants me to provoke an explanation. I don’t hesitate to yield.  

“Why is that?”  

Her smile only grows. I know I have a big smile, but the way her smile grows makes it seem like it could never stop. 

“I can see it. The great amount of power that you hold. The two you came with, I know they have nothing, and your girlfriend, she’s amazing, but not in the same way you are.” 

How can she tell that Wheein and Hwasa are normal? 

“I’ve been working with your kind for quite a while, Solar. That’s how I can tell.” 

Did she just answer a question I asked in my-? 

“Head?” Her smile grows a fraction bigger. “Yes. Yes, I did. Does that make you think of anything?” 

The story on the blog.  

“You wouldn’t believe how much I questioned the blog at first, but look at us now.” She pauses, simply smiling at my discomfort. “It got so many poor saps here, including you and your friends, and oh, I can’t forget your girlfriend.” 

“I thought it was your brother that could read minds.” She must have just mixed up the facts, I thought bitterly. 

“It was my brother.” Minji says as she turns around to grab a chair.  

Then how is she- 

“You remember that audio clip I played before, don’t you?”  

“That horrible scream from the young boy? Yes, of course.” It takes only a moment to realize what she’s hinting at. 

That young boy was him... She somehow took his powers. He didn’t die the way she wrote in her blog. She killed her own brother. 

“You’re not dumb, Solar, so try to figure out why I’m doing all this. Just with the information I’ve given you.” 

It was simple. She wants our powers. 

“Yes!” She throws her hands up, like she was proud. “Each power is different, and each power seems to come from different parts of the brain and body, working in vastly different ways. It’s nice to learn how to improve them, but really, we’re learning about how they work on the inside. That’s how we did it with him. Sometimes it gets messy, as you heard,” She waves hand like what I heard was nothing. Like her brother meant nothing. “But we get results. Emulating something like this demands a lot of results…” 

“Anyway,” She claps. “I want to know what’s up with you. What can you do?”  

She really didn’t know... Solar could feel her curiosity. Minji had no idea what Solar could do. Even with the power of reading minds, Minji couldn't figure it out. That told Solar one important thing... But she couldn’t think it out-right. She had to keep this from the forefront of her mind, away from Minji. 

 

\--------------------------------------

can y'all guess what that important thing is?

also i guess it's nice to know Irene isn't an asshole after all hahah

I wouldn't do her dirty like that

 

 

 


	11. Eleven

Irene’s POV

It was beyond frightening walking among the staff with full awareness of what’s going, and especially after breaking basically every protocol there was to break. Even looking at my dad was frightening. His face actually looked strange, wrong. I was never able to notice it before, but he wasn’t the man from my childhood. Not while he was under someone else’s control, but Solar could lift it. I just have to get past him like things were normal. Or as wrong as they were normally, I suppose.

“Irene,” He greeted me with a tight smile. Clearly he was stressed by what had happened. “Everyone’s been put back in their rooms with extra security?”

“Yes, Sir.”

He hums satisfied and looks back into the two way mirror peering into the empty experiment room that still has the wreckage from Wendy’s last visit. “Thanks for helping with overseeing our orders.”

“Of course. It’s my duty just as much as it is yours.”

“Yes, I suppose that’s true…” He sighs and rubs his hands over his face. “I’m not sure how things are going to be from this point on. I haven’t yet spoken to our benefactor, but at the very least make your usual rounds. We were secure in here as far as I could tell. It was an outside factor that caught us off guard. Those three girls… I’m not even sure what we’ll do with the two girls who haven’t any gifts. I guess I’ll find out soon from… Our benefactor.”

 _She clearly scares him._ “I will. I was about to start now, if that’s okay.”

He smiled more genuinely this time, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. It never did anymore. “Prudent as always. Go on now.” He shoos her away. Irene could tell that it was more about wallowing in his failure than it was about Irene doing her job.

Irene nods and walks off towards the subjects’ rooms. _He’s a good man trapped with evil motivations. I’ll get you out soon. I’ll make sure it won’t be much longer._

Irene knew she had to talk to Moonbyul, but before that, she needed to see Wendy. Will things be different now that she’s fully herself?

Irene walks up to the door that now has a posted guard. She only had to give him an icy glare for him to back down from whatever he had planned to say.

“Stay out while I’m in there. If you want me, knock.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

She didn’t even have time to steel herself for this encounter. Irene was forced to move past the door fast, and the first glance she gets from Wendy is enough to know that she could have really used a moment.

It’s because the barrier was gone. All those fake memories and feelings that made her keep a distance had all dissipated when Solar showed her the truth.

“Irene.” Wendy uttered in disbelief. _She probably thought that that was the end. But it couldn’t be. Not now._

“Wendy.” The most Irene can do is reach her hand out, and hope Wendy takes it because she knows that her own barriers weren’t the only ones between them. But it’s just enough that she takes it with almost no hesitation. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Yes, just helmeted up again. Moonbyul and,” She pauses trying to think of the other name.

“Solar.” Irene supplies.

“Solar, right. They say it’s not our last shot.”

“They’re right, it’s not. I’ll make sure of it. Actually, I have an idea for our next shot.” Irene sits next to Wendy on her bed and takes her other hand. “It actually heavily involves you.”

“Me?” Wendy lets her close without resistance. “How can I help?” She gives Irene an anxious expression. Irene gives her hands a squeeze to try and calm her worries.

 

Solar’s POV

“What can you do?”  Minji asks.

“I can feel people emotions.” It was the simplified truth, and that would help in keeping the real important information away from her.

“Surely that isn’t all that you can do. I mean whatever it was you have assisted you in finding subject 22, right?”

“Wendy,” Solar corrected.

“Wendy then. But I’m not wrong am I?”

“No, but it only made me aware of her distress. We knew each other pretty well before, we had a connection that made me aware to her _complete_ pain and discomfort. We _found_ you because of your blog. But you knew that, didn’t you?” Solar couldn’t keep back the distain in her voice, but to her frustration Minji only seemed amused by it.

“I know it’s the reason your girlfriend got caught, but that doesn’t explain why you’re here now.”

_No, I guess that would because of-_

“No, don’t stop that thought. **_Tell me_** why you’re here.”

Solar closed her eyes and tried to think about anything else. _Just keep thinking about Moonbyul. Her dumb face, her dumb smile, about how she and all my friends are in danger and every thought is a liability._  

Meanwhile, Solar could hear Minji move even closer to her, clearly displeased. Solar could tell simply by her aggressive movements, but the feelings she also radiated was pretty telling. She was now just inches away. Solar’s eyes involuntarily popped back open when she felt Minji pull her head towards her.  

“Are you sure that you don’t have anything to say before I press this to you?” Minji waved the baton before Solar’s face. “I strongly recommend that you do anything to avoid it.”

She didn’t know that Solar had already experienced the terrible sensation that resulted from Irene’s Father’s neurotoxin, and yeah, Solar wanted to avoid it by all means. But selling out Irene was out of the question.

Still, the neurotoxin was effective and there was no way she could withstand more than Minji was willing to give. She had to do something to avoid giving in.

Focusing on not thinking about a person’s face or name still meant you were focusing on that person, and that’s probably why Solar was thrown into Irene’s mind…

 

 

“Brute force.”

“Brute force?” Wendy asked not catching onto what Irene was implying.  

“Yes. The reason they took your memories away was to make you forget the knowledge of how to use your powers. You had suddenly gotten so powerful they were afraid they wouldn’t be able to contain you anymore. So what we need now is your memories because there are no more sneak attacks. The only way out is a direct attack with everything we got.”

“So what? Do I go to therapy?” Wendy asked like she wasn’t convinced that she was the answer to their problems.

“No, I think I have a much quicker means to our end.”

_She’s thinking of me. What I did to her, I can probably do the same for Wendy, and then we’ll suddenly have a massive weapon on our side._

“What would that be?”

“I think Solar can undo what they’ve done to you. I’ll just have to find a way to get to her. It might be hard while the Benefactor’s here. She’s taken a special interest in her. Or so I’ve heard.”

_I just need Irene to take off Wendy’s helmet, so I could get in Wendy’s mind... Take off her helmet. Take off her helmet._

“Here. Let’s take that thing off your head while I’m here. There’s no need for it.”

_Wow. I’m amazing. Now I just need to switch places._

 Wendy tilts her head slightly so Irene can pull it off her head and set on the cot beside them. “Thanks. It’s actually pretty heavy.”

Solar could definitely feel the ache in her neck when she jumped in. It was no light device. That wasn’t the only indication that she had suddenly switched from Irene to Wendy. Unlike Irene, who now had all her past memories and experiences, Wendy was basically a blank slate.

The only thing she was fixated on now, other than her escape, was Irene. Maybe it was impossible to wipe away every lingering feeling that was there. Sungjae couldn’t take it all…

_Right! That’s what I need to find. Those powerful feelings that connect strongly to memories. Her family, her friends, and any partners would be my best bet. I was already fixated on some of what she felt for Irene, but Irene’s still new to Wendy’s life. And on an even sadder note, she’s only been here for the bad in Wendy’s life._

_I wonder if Seulgi’s still an important part of her life. They were close as could be in high school. Seulgi…_

_Yes! She has strong emotions for her, basically throughout her whole life._

_They were young just like Wheein and I when they met. Wendy the quiet loner in school was only brought out of her shell because Seulgi forced it out of her, and she’s never went back since because Seulgi has always been by her side._

“Seulgi! Oh my god! She must be freaking out by now!” It was more than enough to bring Wendy back.

“Seulgi?”

“My best friend.”

“So you have your memories?” Now Irene was looking at Wendy in disbelief.

“Yes!” Wendy exclaimed excitedly. “Yes! Solar and Moonbyul have gifts like me!” Wendy shook Irene’s hands with a wild grin. “And they came to save me.” Her smile fell. “And now it’s my time to save them it seems. Well… I’m up to the task. With all of you guys by my side, I can do it.”

“I know you can, Wendy.” Irene pulled Wendy a bit closer with a sweeter, softer smile. Wendy was back. “Solar sure works fast, doesn’t she?”

“When she puts her mind to something…”

Wendy trailed off when she noticed Irene’s look. Wendy chuckled, her cheeks warming up. “What is that look for?”

“It might not be the right time to say something like this but, I’m really excited to start something with you outside of here.”

Wendy’s smile was now matching Irene’s smitten look. “You’re _that_ sure that we’ll be getting out of here?”

“Yes. I have faith in us. In you.”

Wendy’s response came out a lot softer this time. She was slightly distracted by Irene’s lips. “Then I think it was a perfect time to say it.”

Wendy was so close to bending forward and experiencing just a bit of paradise, but she thought that maybe it something best saved for another time. _A more private time perhaps. I wonder if she can feel me here._

“I should go check on the others before anything starts looking suspicious.”

Wendy was disappointed but after that audio snippet they heard earlier, she understood why Irene wouldn’t want to upset anyone. “Of course. You’ll tell me more about how we’re going to do things later, right?”

“Of course.” She pulled Wendy up with her and gave her a tight hug. “Just wait for me a bit longer, and I’ll be back sooner than you know it.”

_I wonder who Irene’s going to check on next. Maybe Wheein… How is Wheein doing?_

Wheein snickered endearingly, even as she was lying on the hard cold ground. “I can’t believe you already made a hole between our walls. It’s only been like three hours.”

“Well, I was bored in here. Plus, it wasn’t much work because of the grate they have down here.” She could hear Hwasa on the other side of the wall. Of course, if anyone could do it, Hwasa could.

“How long do you think we’ll actually have to stay stuck in these rooms?” Wheein’s question was quick to bring down the mood, but she was really worried.

“It won’t be long. I know Solar and Moonbyul will think of something. Plus, there’s also Irene. We’ll be out of here safe and sound soon enough.”

“I thought we had it back there, Hwasa. What went wrong? I mean, they had a ton of people ready to jump on us in that hallway. It kinda seemed like they knew we were coming. You don’t think they have someone that can tell the future, do you?”

“Nah, I just think they don’t want anyone leaving this facility. They had enough money to make this place, why wouldn’t they take the precautions?”

“That’s true…” Wheein sighed loudly. “I just want to know what we’re gonna do next. You think they’ll get to us soon?”

“We just have to be patient. I know they’ll let us know what’s happening next.”

 

I don’t know what was happening, but it was like I was being forced out of Wheein’s mind and back into my own.

“Oh, there you are. You were gone for a little bit, do you know that?” Solar didn’t respond, she was having a hard enough time trying to get her bearings. “Yeah. Here I was pressing this baton to you, and yet it seemed like you were twitching out of your own volition. So now my question is, where were you?”

“I don’t have to answer anything. I can leave again. Why don’t you put the work in yourself and try to find me?”

There was a slight shift in Minji’s frustrated look, like she had a little break through. “You’re implying something… I can find you in someone else then? Is that what you do? Root your subconscious in someone else?”

Solar’s jaw tightened knowing that she made a big mistake. She knew now that every mistake she made, Minji would catch onto. _I have to watch my big mouth._

“I see you’re being quiet now.” Minji patted the baton into her hand with a wry smile. “I must be onto something.”

Minji for the first time since she’s walked in, turned away from Solar and headed towards the door. “For right now, you’re making me lose my patience. But I may have gotten an idea. You’ll just have to wait to see what it is.”

She didn’t bother giving Solar a last look when she slammed the door behind her.

 _That can’t be good._ Solar thought, and yet still the momentary departure from Minji was a relief for now. Solar wiggled in her chair one last time before sighing and sitting back again. _I really don’t want to see what Minji has in store for me. We need to put something into action as soon as we can._

Moonbyul’s POV

Before the air in the back of Irene’s dad’s throat could be released, Miinji stopped his attempt.

“Don’t bother. It doesn’t matter now. I just want you to do something useful for me right now.”

“What is it?” Moonbyul couldn’t see his face, but from the strained sound of his response she knew he was holding back some anger, and from what she heard from Solar and Minji’s conversation, there was no way he could really hide anything anyway.

“Round all of them up and put them in experiment room 2. I have to try something with that girl Solar.”

“If you’d share your plan, perhaps I could-“

“No. Just do as you’re told. I want to try it as soon as possible.”

There was a pause where Moonbyul couldn’t hear anything at all. She thought she lost her gift even.

“Well? Get moving.”

“Right. Yes, Ma’am.”

 

 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

 

 

 


	12. Twelve

Solar’s POV

_God,_ Solar thought. _I really need to sleep._ Solar was really feeling it now. The fatigue from everything they’ve been through. Their attempt escape really had her using her powers in a way she never really had before. She was beginning to truly understand the true amount of power she could potentially unlock. That was exactly why she didn’t want Minji to find out what she could do.

No one else really understood her limits but her. Solar had the power of influence. Or if you wanted to call it something more intimidating you could call it “mind control”. She hadn’t tapped into that part of her power before, and she had no interest unlocking this element of her power. Minji, on the other hand, would be a whole different story.

 “Ow,” Yeri yelped from the seat across from Solar. They were all being forced to sit in a circle. “Jeez - I’m gonna sit. You don’t have to shove so much.” Solar heard the youngest girl say to one of the guards as she was pushed into one of the seats. Everyone else was getting the same treatment, but they were being a lot quieter about it. “And, are these tight ass bondages really necessary?” Despite herself, Solar couldn’t help but chuckle at the youngest’s theatrics.

But she couldn’t deny that she was glad that Minji wasn’t here to see it all. At this point, she didn’t want to know how she would react to Yeri’s display.

But Moonbyul was having a similar reaction to hers. Solar’s eyes, like they tended to do, gravitated towards Moonbyul’s direction. She saw the slight smile on her girlfriend’s face, obviously also amused by the scene before them. Moonbyul must have felt her eyes because moments later her eyes met Solar’s, and it was such a nice comfort for the moment, it was almost as good as a hug. _God – we have to get the hell out of here._

But the moment was cut short when Minji entered the room seconds later, sucking any trace of amusement out of the place. She walked in with a pleased smirk and made direct eye contact with Solar. Suddenly, the fatigue became almost overwhelming. Solar didn’t think she had enough energy in her to keep up the game of cat and mouse.

Minji didn’t take her eyes off Solar until she entered the center of the circle, but by then Solar had closed her eyes and tossed her head back for just a moment of rest. It was useless.

Minji looked around the circle with all the confidence in the world and took in the sight of the run down teens before her. All together they were a strong group of kids, and yet she had them all under her thumb. A rush of pleasure ran up her spine. She felt powerful.

“Well, well. I bet you’re all wondering why you were brought here.” Minji said with an all too sweet smile.

“Not really.” Yeri quipped.

Minji’s smile didn’t sway. It may have even raised a bit. Even she was victim to Yeri’s charms.

“Glad to have your opinion, but you aren’t the only person in here, so I’ll just explain what’s going down anyway.” She clasped her hands together with a pleased smile reminding Solar of the image of a cat about to pounce on its pray. “I’m a scientist, and naturally that makes me really curious. Solar refuses to feed my curious nature by not revealing her powers to me. Naturally that makes me a little upset. But thanks to Solar’s little clues, I thought of a solution.” Minji makes sure she doesn’t miss making contact with anyone in the circle. “I know Solar leaves her mind to move to another’s, but I also know that isn’t all of what she can do. So… that’s why you’re all here. I’m going to get the answer. She has nowhere to run.”

Hwasa, Wheein, and Moonbyul all shift uncomfortably in their seats. They of course know a bit more about Solar’s capabilities. They all probably had something to offer, and Solar wouldn’t be surprised or upset if they all gave her something just then.

Solar just kept chanting in her head: _I just want to be in bed cuddled with Moonbyul._ Over and over again. She could almost feel her sheets and Moonbyul’s arms wrapped around her. Solar must have been so tired she was almost in a dream state.

But someone else clearly let something slip, understandably, because at that moment, Minji’s mask of confidence fell a bit.

“Of course.” Minji said turning towards Wheein, “I should have known her close friends would know a few things about her.” Minji took a step towards Wheein. Solar saw Wheein’s face visibly harden.

“I clearly don’t know her range? Tell me more about that.” Minji was standing right in front of Wheein now. Wheein kept her eyes level with hers but gave her a look that said, “I would rather die than tell you anything”. 

Solar did not like seeing her best friend put herself on the line for her like that. What was the point now? She knew that if Minji kept trying she would find out the full extent of her powers eventually. _Maybe I should just tell her. It would be a long time before she could actually do anything with the powers anyway, right? We would probably be out of here by then…_ She just couldn’t watch her friends suffer.

Solar knew that Minji definitely heard what she thought, but what did it matter at this point? They were truly backed into a corner.

“Toss me the baton!” Minji raised her hand to a guard and immediately he threw it to her. “At this point, most of you have felt the pain of this thing. Tell her how remarkably intolerable it is,” She looked around the circle with a sadistic smile, not needing verbal confirmation because she knew what they all thought. “It _was_ quite remarkable. Just wait ‘til you feel it now. But really, you don’t want to be on the receiving end of this thing. There have been no tests, and we’re not really sure if you can survive this new update for long.”

Even at the lowest Solar has ever been, she could feel that it was a bluff. There was no update.

Minji turned back to Wheein. “So tell me, what do you know about Solar’s powers? You said she has range that far surpasses this. What else can you tell me? How did you guys manage to get in here?”

Solar wanted to call her out on her bluff, but she felt something coming.

Wendy’s POV

Wendy had been the lead in choir many times, but taking the lead in their escape was something else entirely. She was the key for this, which meant that she couldn’t fail unless she wanted to let everyone else down. It was also strangely comforting in a way too because it also meant she couldn’t hold anything back. She couldn’t be afraid to hurt anyone. Someone was bound to get hurt, and it was better that it wasn’t any of them. _They’ve hurt us countless times with no mercy._ It was a bitter thought, but time in here could bring out the worst in person.

She just had to make sure the one’s she was protecting got out. If she had never gone through this, she would have never been thinking in this way, but she had. They were being treated like lab animals, and she was responsible for freeing them of that.

“What does it matter? We got in here, and we’ll also get out of here. That’s all you need to know.” Wheein, her other choir buddy, said to Minji with a raised chest. Wendy saw Wheein’s face and knew that she wasn’t going to do the smart thing and play nice. Wheein would definitely end up getting hurt, but not if Wendy did something before then.

Irene had already modified the helmet so that it no longer hindered her powers. All she needed to do now was make a move. There were six guards in the room at the moment. Each with a gun that shot the neurotoxin in high doses. Irene had warned her about them. Irene told her that she had to find a way to get those guns out of the equation or else she’d be taken down in just a shot.

“Wheein, I can see that you truly believe what you’re saying, and I really admire your spirit. I truly do. But can’t you see that you and your friends have no more ammo in your gun.”

Minji was being naïve herself because of course they wouldn’t stop trying to escape. _I bet she would have never expected an attempt so soon._

_Thank god Irene also modified my helmet so Minji couldn’t read my mind. I would have blown this so soon._

The moment before her attack felt a little similar to the moments just before a big solo on stage, which was surprising considering how different the situations were. There was a welling in her stomach, a thumping in her chest, and she could feel the sweat on her palms as she clutches her hand into a tight fist. The real difference was that she could feel the immense power within her. The power she had unlocked just days ago with Irene. It was something she couldn’t forget. (Unless of course her memories were messed with) There wasn’t any more hesitation once Wendy figured out how she was going to execute the attack.

“So why don’t you stop acting tough before I show you just how small you truly are.”

Before Minji could stick Wheein with the vile baton, Wendy lifted all six guards in the air and crashed them together causing a sickening crack. She dropped them all in the back as far from the door as possible. Minji turned to Wendy quickly with wide, fearful eyes. She probably hadn’t truly felt that in years.

“How…? All your memories are back?”

Minji couldn’t read her mind, but it wasn’t too hard to guess what had happened. Wendy didn’t bother giving the woman an answer, but the moment before Wendy threw Minji to the back wall to join the guards, she seemed to have figured something out. It didn’t matter now.

The whole circle froze in shock, but only just for a moment because no one else needed further prodding to get the hell out of there. The sound of the door unlocking startled everyone from their daze, and everyone at once stood up. They were preparing for a fight, but lucky for them it was just Irene.

“Come on. Hurry.” Irene stood just half inside the door so she could keep her eyes on the halls. “I can lead us to the cars.” When Irene turned her head back towards the others she saw them walking with their hands behind their backs. “Just pull your hands apart. Your handcuffs should be unlocked.”

Surely enough when they all tried, their hands all came apart.

“That certainly makes things a lot easier.” Hwasa stated with relief in her voice.

“I’m sure police handcuffs got nothing on those. I’ve never felt anything more uncomfortable.” Wheein said as she stuck herself close to Hwasa. They naturally fell behind everyone else in the pack because at this moment, they would be useless in a fight.

“For real.” Hwasa agreed.

As Wendy was passing Irene, the scientist reached out and grabbed her wrist. “Good job in there.” Irene gave Wendy a small smile, pride gleaming in her eyes. “I told you you could do it, but it isn’t over yet. There are dozens of guards posted around the compound, and a lot of them have the anti-power cubes. You’re gonna have to be the one to deal with them.”

“I’m going to give it everything I got.” Wendy grabbed Irene’s hand and gave it a squeeze. They’re freedom was so close she could almost taste it, and Wendy thought maybe it was a good thing that it came down to her because she wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of that. Irene reached up with her other hand took the helmet for what would hopefully be the last time, and threw it away.

“Guys, Minji sounds like she could start stirring soon. We have to get out before she calls in more people or something.” Wendy turned to look at Moonbyul, who was standing with Solar, practically holding her up.

“Right. I’ll lead the way. No one else has caught wind of what just happened yet. I made sure of it.” Irene responded in tone that clearly stated she was back to business.

Irene wasted no more time and pulled Wendy leading them through an empty hallway. Wendy picked up her pace so she could stand right beside Irene. She wanted to make sure that Irene wasn’t in the line of fire before Wendy could make an attack.

“We’re coming up to some people soon. They have guns and the boxes.” Moonbyul warned from just behind them.

“Fuck those cubes. We could have been out of here so fast.” Yeri complained.

“Your fault for having so many weaknesses.” Kibum said. Finally speaking up since they got caught last time.

Yeri snorted. “You’re one to talk.” Kibum simply chuckled in response.

Wendy was actually soothed by the banter rather than bothered by it, even in her anxious state. It reminded her that these strangers deserved their freedom just as much as any of them. Maybe even more. They have been their longer. It was amazing that still had the capacity to joke.

Moonbyul shushed them. “Do you want them to hear us?”

No one responded because they were nearing the end of the corridor. Wendy could feel her power surge up within her once again. She had to be the fastest in the room. _At least I’ll catch them by surprise._ Wendy took a deep breath, not wanting to waste any more time, and stepped into their view. Before anyone could so much as raise their gun, she threw all five of them into the wall hard enough to knock each of them out.

It was loud, but after they dropped to the floor it was quiet. Almost dead quiet. But only for second. Wendy was sure she heard an alarmed shout come from somewhere nearby.  Even then she couldn’t help but stare at their unconscious bodies. Back in the other room, she didn’t actually have to face the evidence of what she had done face on. She hurt them all like they were nothing. Irene had to grab her hand again and pull her onward.

“They heard that.” They didn’t really need the confirmation. “Their on their guard, but they don’t know what to expect yet.” Moonbyul informed them.

“Is there anyone on the other side of this wall?” Irene pressed her hand to one of the white walls and looked to Moonbyul for an answer.

“No.” Moonbyul answered quickly probably because she already checked where everyone was in the compound.

“Yeri, if you can take us through here and out the other side we can get through this place faster, and they probably wouldn’t expect us to go this way anyway. The wall and all...”

Wendy glanced over at Yeri and saw her eyes light up. “On it. Everyone gather around me.” Yeri demanded.

Everyone did just as they had before, and moved close to Yeri so she could reach her powers out towards everyone.

“I wouldn’t, but I could rob a bank so easy. Look at this.” Yeri said as we all walked through the wall. It was a weird sensation. It’s like you could feel the atoms brush against your own.

 “You sure could.” Kibum responded. Wendy could hear the grin in his voice. “Imagine if we worked together though. Just saying.” They reached the end of the room quickly because they even walked through all the equipment and furniture.

“If I ever get desperate enough, I’ll definitely hit you up.”

“Can’t wait to see that in the news.” Hwasa murmured. Wendy heard Wheein chuckle in response.

“Alright, guys. There’s be some people on the other side.” Moonbyul said while adjusting Solar on her arm.

“You ready, Wendy.” Solar asked with a heavy voice. Solar was really looking bad. 

“I’m ready to get outta here.”

“I’ve been here less than a day and I feel that in my soul.” Wendy turned to look at Wheein and for the first time taking it in that one of her choir mates, one without powers, risked it all to come save her. She’d have to let them all know how grateful she is once they get out.

Wendy eyed the gun that Wheein must have picked up from one of the guards. She’s surprised no one commented on it, but who knows, maybe it’ll come in handy.

They were lucky this group didn’t have the cubes. Yeri led them through once again, and the moment they passed the threshold, Wendy slammed the guards together before they could make sense of the bodies coming out of the wall.

They didn’t need Moonbyul to warn them anymore. After they crossed the second wall, everyone could hear the frenzied voices.

“We have to go down this way,” Irene murmured softly, while leading them straight to the voices. “We have to get past them, then we’ll be _soo_ close.” There was a desperation in her voice now.

“You hear that buzzing? More cubes.” Kibum whispered bitterly.

“Don’t worry I got this.” _Who would have thought that I would be the person to hold all this power? It probably goes against what most people think of me._

Maybe it was because they were getting closer or maybe it just got easier each time she did it, but slamming those men against the walls like they were nothing barely fazed her at this point time.

“Damn. You really just blow them away like nothing.” Kibum commented while stepping over one of the unconscious guards. “I don’t think a cube would be able to stop you.”

“Let’s hope not.” Wendy replied while trying to keep up with Irene.

“Moonbyul?” Solar asked with an alarmed voice. “What’s wrong?”

“Do you hear that high pitched-“ She cut herself off. Her eyes go wide. “Wendy, look out!” Moonbyul yelled in a panic.

It was too late.

There had been someone standing in behind one the closed doors, seeming to have just been waiting for them. He took a shot that hit Wendy in her left shoulder. It hurt more the neurotoxin. Wendy didn’t think that was possible, but she fell right after the impact. It’s almost like she could feel whatever was in the bullet spread throughout every cell burning her up bit by bit.  

“Dad!” She heard Irene scream. “Stop! You don’t know what you’re doing!” Irene put herself in front of Wendy, blocking further harm.

“I know exactly what I’m doing. I made the thing. Subject 22 shouldn’t have her powers for a few hours. She can’t harm anyone for awhile. Now move Irene. We can talk about your betrayal to your mother and me later.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about. Mom would have never wanted this. Minji gave us both false memories. Everything we were doing here is based on a lie.” Irene didn’t take her eyes off her father and started walking slowly towards him. “Kibum,” Irene didn’t take her eyes off her father when as she spoke to him. “Take Wendy and run straight through that hall. All of you go now.” Her voice was firm.

Still Solar tried to speak up in protest. Even in her weak state.

Wendy would have too, but she was just barely following the conversation at the moment.

“Now!” Irene’s tone made it clear there was no room to argue.

When Kibum lifted her up, it only accentuated the pain. Wendy groaned in response, but that was all she could do.

“If you try to take a shot you’ll only be hitting me!” Irene’s voice was a bit more distant now. Each step Kibum took brought more black spots to her vision, but she had to hang on. She had to get Irene.

_We were supposed to leave together._

 

It’s been awhile, huh?

Keep that in mind if there's any discrepancies. I didn't want to read everything again hahah

 

 

 


	13. Thirteen

#  Chapter 13

“Don’t leave just yet Hwasa. I can get them out.” No one knew how Solar had the audacity to rasp this out as she could barely get herself to the car.

“Solar, you can barely stand, how’re you gonna-” Hwasa couldn’t even finish her sentence before Solar cut in.

“If I get to the car- When I sit down-”

“Solar…” Moonbyul muttered sounding concerned.

“Moonbyul.” Solar was able to shut Moonbyul up with that one word. She didn’t need to hear the pity.

_I don’t have a choice I have to._

It was true that Solar had never felt like this before. Like she was tired and could barely stand, and that wasn’t even the whole of it. She felt something else deep in her chest. It wasn’t pain, but her heart seemed to be pumping strangely. It was hard and fast. She could almost feel the blood rushing to her brain.

_It can’t just be blood._

She thought this because for a brief moment, right before Moonbyul helped her into the car and she crashed into the seat, Solar swore she could feel everyone’s, within a 10 mile radius, fears and desires. It was for just a split second, but once the moment passed she no longer felt so tired and weak. She shot up straight in her seat, leaving Moonbyul’s side, and gasped for a breath.

“Solar…” Moonbyul called out hesitantly. She must have heard the whole thing. “What just happened?”

“I don’t know.” Solar admitted honestly. “But I have to get Irene’s dad to come with us as soon as possible. Irene doesn’t have much time left.

“We can’t leave without her,” Wendy could barely get the words out as she breathed out in pain. She was probably barely aware of what was going on around her. The only attention she could manage to give was to Irene.

“I know, Wendy. Don’t worry I got this.” Solar touched her arm gently. Kibum had dropped her off in the seat beside her. Solar then turned back to Moonbyul, remembering the plan they had come up with earlier. “Moonbyul, take the wheel. Kibum, you get in the car with Hwasa, Wheein, and Yeri.”

“Are you sure? I can drive.” Kibum made eye contact with her in the rear view mirror, looking confident at the wheel.

“Thank you, but Moonbyul and Hwasa know the route.”                                                                                                       

“The route to where?” Moonbyul asked still by her side. Solar knew she was hesitant to leave her, but Solar felt fine. Better than fine actually.

“Hwasa’s. Minji doesn’t know where she lives, and her dad should be out of the house.” She knew this because she had been the one to urge him to stay over at his girlfriend’s for the night. It felt a little weird, but it had to be done. “Alright, everyone get situated. I’m going in.”

Solar had expected her usual leave her body limp while she jumps into someone else’s conscious, but that isn’t what happened. What happened was similar to the time she had gone to get Krystal with Moonbyul. When she had used Moonbyul’s senses to get around, but stayed present in her body.

This time was more remarkable than then because she wasn’t near her physical body like she had been at that time. Right now, it almost felt like she had two minds. And she knew, this is something no other human had felt before. This experience was truly something superhuman.

“Woah.” Solar breathed.

“What?” Moonbyul asked. Moonbyul had gotten into the driver seat, but she had twisted around in the seat to look at her girlfriend. Solar knew that Moonbyul must have figured out that something changed that moment before.

“I’m here and there…” Solar knew that probably sounded lame, but that was the best way she could explain it in the moment.

“Dad, we don’t have time! Come with me now! Take the chance and I promise you everything will become clear to you once I explain!” Irene begged her father looking desperate. She looked like she was close to running away even if it meant leaving her dad, but her love for her father kept her there. She had to keep fighting for him. “You have to trust me more than your feelings right now. That’s all I ask this one time.”

There was a war going on inside Dr. Bae’s mind. His sense told him that he should trust her. Of course, he should trust his daughter, but there was a rage for the people with powers that was almost just as strong. And the love he had for his wife, which was true and deep, was being tricked to fight for that rage.

“I ca-can’t.” He said through gritted teeth.

There was no time to unlock his memories. Solar had to get him out _now_. She just needed to… Be him.

“I’ll come.” Solar spoke in his voice. Solar immediately lowered the gun, and moved towards Irene.

“I’m… doing mind control.” She told Moonbyul in stunned voice. It felt wrong, but it was necessary, right? It was different than the suggestions she gave people. It may not have seemed that way because they usually end up doing what she wanted, but unlike those pushes this was a total takeover. She was basically the pilot of Dr. Bae’s body. Solar was the puppeteer and he was her puppet.  

Moonbyul, knowing just what she must have been feeling replied. “Well… It’s not exactly a big leap from what you’ve done before. There’s no reason to feel bad about it.” Solar heard Moonbyul’s response just as Dr. Bae jogged past Irene. It would have been impossible to miss the shock on Irene’s face. After the struggle he had been putting up, it would have been weird for such a quick turnaround.

 “Quickly! I can hear them coming.” Solar spoke again in the deep voice of Irene’s father.

Solar heard the light gasp from Irene, and then her footsteps soon catching up to hers/his. Irene wasn’t about to question it right now.

Soon enough, Solar’s worlds were colliding. From her view she could see Irene and Dr. Bae run out from the compound, and from his view she saw the cars­. It seemed like it would be too much to manage, but somehow she could handle it all without trouble. Like this is just how things are. How things have always been.

They were in the car soon enough, and Hwasa took off before them leading the way to freedom.

“Are you-” Irene hesitated for a moment. “Are you responsible for my father’s compliance?”

“Yes,” Solar answered honestly. “But don’t fret. I’m working on bringing his real self out now.”

 

Hwasa’s POV

Solar, even in her half-awake state, assured us that Dr. Bae and Irene would be there. Don’t leave, she said and Hwasa had to listen because at this point she knew that Solar would follow through. Even when you thought it would be impossible, she came through.

She wasn’t surprised when she saw Dr. Bae come out with Irene, but she couldn’t begin to figure how Solar had done it. Either way she didn’t hesitate to shift Wheein’s car into drive. Against the odds, they all made it out and now they were heading towards her place for safety. Hwasa never thought her house would be used as a safe base. Although it was lived in by the very man who made peoples’ homes safe, so maybe it made sense after all.

“What’s with the doom and gloom, people?” Yeri shouted out with complete glee. “We made it out! Play some music! Put on the radio. I don’t care. I just want to hear some music.”

“I second that.” Kibum agreed with a wide uncontrollable grin. “Let’s play some music! I can’t believe I survived so long without hearing music.”

“I know, right? They didn’t even know it, but that was a part of the torture itself.” Yeri said, talking like she hadn’t just gone through some traumatizing stuff.

 _Maybe it takes some time to digest._ Hwasa thought.

“Yeah-yeah.” Hwasa feigned annoyance, but in all honesty she was feeling the rush too. “I’ll put some music on. Just make sure you’re wearing your seatbelts.”

“I got it!” Wheein said with a laugh, happily turning up whatever was on the radio.

Hwasa glanced over at her, and saw that clearly Wheein was feeling the glee too. She had on the biggest smile; it was so bright she swore it rivaled the sun.

 _Wow… I’m so whipped._ Hwasa thought, almost irked to be so caught up in her feelings for Wheein that she had mushy thoughts like that. Still, she had to smile to herself after seeing that.

Everyone in the car was singing along to the music, and by the time they reached Hwasa’s house, theirs fears of being caught once again have dissipated. It was a naïve thought considering who they were dealing with, but maybe they needed that right then.

 

Moonbyul’s POV

The drive to Hwasa’s was pretty interesting. The main reason being that, this was Moonbyul’s hypothesis, Solar went through some sort of power metamorphosis. Watching Solar figuring out what she was capable of was sort of amusing. She would be talking from her body one minute then accidently slip a few words into Dr. Bae’s mouth.

“So you’re controlling my dad right now?” Irene asked soon after Moonbyul took off. It didn’t take Irene long to piece things together.

“Yes. Just while I’m trying to probe out some deep powerful memories that will-”

“-force him to be his self once again.”

Wendy chuckled from Irene’s lap, sounding a bit out of it.  “That was weird.”

“It was.” Moonbyul looked up into the rearview mirror to see Irene smiling down at Wendy, brushing her fingers through her hair. “You sound like you’re doing better.” She sounded relieved.

“The pain is slowly going away, but I can still tell that my powers are gone. How could he even…?” Wendy wondered. “Did you help your dad with that? You guys must be smart.”

“A little. But I stopped awhile back. I didn’t even know he finished it.”

“How are things going for you, Solar?” Moonbyul asked. She had been glancing up every now and then to see the cute furrow of Solar’s brows as she searched for a good memory.

“Good.”

“Mostly.”

“Sungjae just really must have buried his-”

            “-stuff deep do-”

“-wn.”

It was kind of an eerie thing to see because while Solar was working on him, Solar had Dr. Bae sitting pretty still in his seat up front. So when she accidently spoke through him, it looked way out of place.

“Ope!” She suddenly exclaimed. “Did it!” She announced proudly as Dr. Bae relaxed out of his trance.

“I’m sorry I didn’t trust you, Irene. I knew somewhere in me, but in the end the lies won.” Dr. Bae spoke his first words as him true self in what must have been a while. His voice almost sounded unfamiliar. It was softer. More like his daughter’s.

“Dad, I know. I’ve been there. We both did some horrible, unforgivable things. You don’t need to explain a thing to me.” His daughter assured him.

The car sat in an awkward silence for a moment. No one really knew what to say.

Finally, Dr. Bae was the one to break the silence.

“Um… Sorry for shooting you… Wendy, was it?”

“Yes, Wendy, and I mean I did just throw more than a couple dozen people at walls and stuff. I guess I can’t just do all that without some sort of karmic payback.”

Moonbyul heard the light smack that Irene gave Wendy.

“Don’t say that. How could you think Karma would be working against you after all that?”

Solar chuckled. “That’s Good ol’ Wendy for you.”

“Wendy’s famous for being altruistic, huh?” Moonbyul could hear the smile in Irene’s voice.

“Oh yeah.” Moonbyul smiled to herself after hearing the enthusiastic nodding coming from Solar. “I didn’t think she had mean bone in her body. Honestly, I’m glad to see that she can throw down when necessary. Kudos to you, Wendy.”

Wendy laughed out loud but stopped to groan. Clearly she wasn’t all better yet.  “Yeah, thanks. Guess I’m just full of surprises.” She paused. “Although, can’t see that sort of thing happening again anytime soon.”

“Dad, how long do you think the effects will last?” Irene asked her father clearly worried about Wendy.

“Oh um,” Dr. Bae coughed. “I never actually tested it before. It can’t be more than a day… It think. She might be stiff for a while, as for the powers, well, I can’t really say.”  

 

 

Wheein’s POV

Kibum whistles lowly when he walks into Hwasa’s house, impressed by what he sees when he walks in. Honestly Wheein, herself had been impressed. Hwasa never mentioned before just how well her dad’s company was doing. They weren’t living extremely lavishly or anything, but it was still really nice.

“Sweet pad, Bro.” He says.

“Thanks. Make yourself comfortable but not too comfortable. And of course, your shoes.” Hwasa joked while throwing her dad’s keys in the little tray by the door.

“Well yeah, I’m not an animal.” Yeri quickly toes her shoes off, and walks in as her eyes wander the place. “And don’t worry about that. I plan on getting home as soon as I can. I just don’t know how that’s gonna work out. I’m pretty sure that bitch that abducted me took everyone that was close to me memories away. And,” Yeri gestured to herself. “I’m not about to show up looking like this.”

Wheein took in the plain white clothes the girl was wearing. She looked like she just walked out of some futuristic lab scene in a movie, as the subject of course. She definitely needed to change before going out. “Hwasa and I can probably go out and get you guys something, but we’ll have to talk about what’s gonna happen next when the other’s walk in.”

Just then the door opened, and first in was Wendy was being led in by Irene. “Hey,” Irene greeted everyone. “Thanks again for letting us come here.”

“Yeah, I really appreciate it,” Wendy agreed.

Hwasa waved her hand to dismiss the comment. “Ain’t a problem.”

Wheein perked up when she saw Solar walking in. She was looking a lot better than the last time she’d seen her.

 _Did she just have the most amazing powernap or what?_ There was a clear change in her appearance.

“Solar!” Wheein shouted while running over to her. Moonbyul retracted her arm to let Wheein go in for the hug. “You look so much better! You were like half dead the last time I saw you.”

“Something inexplicable happened,” Solar shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal. “And it seems I’m good now. Honestly, couldn’t really explain it if I wanted.” Solar said hugging Wheein back.  
“Let’s order pizza or something.” Moonbyul suggested while walking towards one of the chairs and plopping down in it. “I’m starving.”

“Yes!” Kibum and Yeri say simultaneously.

“Someone who still has their phone order something. I’ll pay.” Moonbyul said looking happy at the sight of their guests looking excited.

Wheein let go of Solar to reach for her back pocket only to find that her phone wasn’t there.  
“I forgot I left my phone in Hwasa’s room. I’ll go up to get it and be right back.”

“Oh! Can you get mine too?” Solar asked her from Moonbyul’s lap, where she had promptly settled in right after Wheein had let go of her.

“Smart of you guys to leave them behind. I’ll have to get a new one.” Moonbyul pouted.

“I know, right? We thought of everything.” Hwasa bragged as she followed Wheein up the stairs. “Saved all of y’alls asses with only one set back!”

“It was a pretty big setback.” She heard Moonbyul reply from the floor below.

“I’m more than willing to send you back!”

Wheein laughed at their banter as she reached Hwasa’s desk to get the phones. “Here you go.”

“Thank you.”

“So after we eat, you want to go out and get them some clothes.” Wheein asked feeling high from their success.

“You want to do that now? We can probably do that in the morning.”

At that point, night had already fallen. Wheein was really beginning to feel the fatigue in her bones, but she didn’t want any of the ex-subjects to feel uncomfortable. They just got out. They deserved some clothes. At least that much. Especially when they still didn’t know when they would be able to go home yet.

“We can manage a quick run, yeah?”

Hwasa stood there for a moment quietly regarding Wheein with a soft smile.

“What?” Wheein couldn’t help but blush under her heavy gaze.

“Nothing. You’re just a nice girl. And yes, I think we can manage. After we eat.” Hwasa grabbed Wheein’s hand and led her out of her room. “Let’s go ask everyone what they want. I’m starving too.”

Wheein blissfully let Hwasa lead her out, not letting go until just before they entered the view of their peers and Irene’s dad.

“Alright! What do y’all want?” Wheein asked with a bright smile.

 

Solar’s POV

“This isn’t done yet,” Solar said after taking a bite of her pizza so she was speaking through a full mouth. She paused to chew and swallow before adding, “She’s not going to quit that easily. She’s obsessed with gaining more powers, I could feel that.”

“That’s… a lot to lay on us,” Kibum replied as the pizza he was about to bite was halfway to his mouth. “What do you think we should do? I mean is this going to stop us from getting home?”

“She knows where you live, right? It won’t be safe.” Moonbyul stated sounding apologetic even though she was in the same situation herself.

“Wow…” Yeri drawled out annoyed. “I say we just kill her.”

“Um…” Wheein chuckled nervously. “Kill?”

“Yeh. I mean… If anyone deserves it, it’s her. Right?” She looked around Hwasa’s dining room table, expecting to see at least one person agree with her. When no one did, she huffed and sat back in her chair. “Fine! What do you guys suggest?”

“Just do what she did to your parents and Wendy, wipe her memories. You can do that right, Solar?” Wheein turned to her best friend with an expectant look.

“Uh,” Solar wiped her mouth with a napkin feeling unprepared for center stage again. “I usually give memories back not take them, but it wouldn’t hurt to try, I guess. I’d to try it on someone though.”

“Alright, but if not, I say we put blunt force trauma on the table.” Yeri said right before taking a bite with an almost too eager look.

“You know what?” Kibum asked. “The idea is growing on me.”

“Okay, but if we end up doing that, I’m not gonna be the one doing it.” Wendy chirped in finally with an amused smile. Her muscles were still stiff, so Irene had to help Wendy bring the pizza to her mouth because otherwise Wendy shook too much. But just as Dr. Bae assured, the effects were slowly wearing off.

“No problem, I volunteer myself. You guys just have to get me the opportunity.”

Everyone around the table chuckles, including Dr. Bae who hadn’t said anything the whole time.

“Right, well, in all seriousness, we have to consider our options if Solar isn’t able to do it. I’m sure my father and I could make something that could induce amnesia, but that might take time and I know we don’t have a lot of that. Not to mention, it might be hard to control what exactly she forgets.” Irene said trying to put them back on track.

“Let’s sleep on this.” Hwasa suggested. “We’ll have time to regroup in the morning. Maybe then we’ll have new ideas, if not then we can polish what we have. You guys need a good sleep though, I know that.”

“Yes. I agree with Hwasa.” Solar noted the obvious adoring smile Wheein gave Hwasa as she backed her up. Solar almost wanted to roll her eyes at the sight. It was hard to watch them like each other so obviously and not be together. Then again, who was she to talk?

_It is torture to watch after all…_

Everyone else murmured in agreement after that.

 _Tomorrow it is. At least, tonight-_ Solar looked over at her girlfriend and smiled. _I have Moonbyul._

 

_~~~~~~~~~~~~_

_Hey guys, if you're reading i really appreciate it._

_have a good one_

 

 

  
  


 

 

 


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